f^5fliA'- 



.X<°^ 




•^oV* 







-H O, 



■^^ "^0^ 






'°^' 
% 



<v 












"^^^x^ 






























"hV 



^^-^^^ 


















/ 

JOURNAL OF A TOUR 

STATE OF NEW YORK, 

IN THE YEAR 1830; 

WITH 

REMARKS ON AGRICULTURE 

IN THOSE PARTS MOST ELIGIBLE FOR SETTLERS? 
AND RETURN TO ENGLAND BY 

THE WESTERN ISLANDS, 

IN CONSEQUENCE OF SHIPWRECK IN THE ROBERT FULTON. 

BY JOHN FOWLER. 



It occupies me to turn back regards 

On what I've seen or pondered, sad or cheery; 

And what I write I cast upon the strearn. 

To swim or sink." _^, '^r^^M^ 






LONDON: — ^ 
WHITTAKER, TREACHER, AND ARNOT, 

ia3L 



LIVERPOOL: PRINTKU BY E. SMITH AND CO. 



TO 



THOMAS ATTWOOD, ESQUIRE, 



LIBERAL AND ENLIGHTENED ADVOCATE OF REFORM^ 



FOUNDER OF POLITICAL UNIONS, 



THOSE GREAT MORAL ENGINES, WHICH, BY CONCENTRATING 



PUBLIC FEELING, SENTIMENT, AND ENERGY, 



HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO 



PRODUCE SUCH GLORIOUS RESULTS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, 



THESE PAGES ARE VERY RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, 



BY HIS FRIEND 



AND ZEALOUS WELL-WISHER, 



THE AUTHOR. 



PREFACE 



Lengthy prefaces, like lengthy parlia- 
ments, are now happily out of favour : if 
the reader is to be introduced to any thing 
worthy his notice, why detain him on the 
threshold ? if not, 'tis but needlessly adding 
to his labour and disappointment. 

I had once thought of offering apology 
for not going earlier to press, when it oc- 
curred to me that some complaisant critic 
or other might obligingly submit to me 
(young authors aforetime have known them 
as much concerned for their welfare) 
whether it would not have been better to 
have dispensed with the ceremony altogether; 
and thus, at one gentle flourish of his pen, 
have reduced my solicitude on this head to 



IV PREFACE. 

a mere dead letter. In other designs, sur- 
mises, and anticipations, 1 was but little 
more happy, until, at length, I have deter- 
mined to abide steadfastly by the old adage, 
"the least said, the soonest mended;" and 
a few more prefatory words shall suffice me. 

The subsequent pages — as much of them 
at least as I lay claim to — were originally 
written, on a hasty Tour, for my own satis- 
faction and reference, and that of a limited 
circle of friends who felt interested in my 
proceedings ; but others, whose judgment 
and candour I appreciate, having expressed 
some gratification in the perusal of them, 
and numerous inquiries having been ad- 
dressed to me, particularly upon the subject 
of agriculture and the prospects for emi- 
grants in the State of New York, as also 
respecting our shipwreck, — in the hope that 
what I relate may not be found wholly de- 
void of interest or utility, I have been in- 



PREFACE. V 

duced, with little correction or revision, to 
offer it, such as it is, to the public. This 
only recommendation I wish to advance in 
its favour : — It is presented by one who, to 
the extent of his opportunities, has endea- 
voured to investigate for himself, — who has 
no private or party feelings to gratify, — no 
smiles of patronage to court, or frowns to 
dread, — one who, in short, as he would 
scorn the meanness, has no earthly interest 
or motive to stoop to imposition, or in 
representing things otherwise than as they 
really are. 

J. F. 



ERRATA. 

In a few copies of this edition will be found the following errors: — 
Page 110, line 11, for attended with, read attended by. 
112, — 17, fox venemous, rend venomous. 

152, 14, for levelled, read leveller. 

166, — 10, for bears resemblance, read bears any resemblance. 

172, — 4, for then disappeared, read there disappeared. 

182, — 18 and 20, for usual time are as follows, read usual times are as 

follow. 
235, — 24, for getting under may, read weigh, 

252, — 22, for Ponte del Gada, read Ponto— and wherever it occurs after- 
wards. 



JOURNAL, &c. 



VOYAGE TO NEW YORK. 

June '2ith, 1830. — Having for some time past been 
meditating a trip across the Atlantic, and circum- 
stances at the present moment seeming rather to con- 
spire to fiivour the project^ about twelve o'clock this 
day I put myself on board the packet-shjp York, 
Captain Thompson, bound from Liverpool to New 
York, with seven cabin and seven steerage passengers. 
Before clearing the river we were taken in tow by a 
steam-boat, which continued with us to the Floating 
Light, (a light ship moored about fifteen miles from 
Liverpool,) w^hen the wind got more easterly, and we 
made good progress through the night. 

26th. — Little worthy of remark. Those never afloat 
before, sick in their berths, and those who have, being 
yet without their sea legs, staggering about the deck 
in a way that must be tolerated here, but would not 
be thought over creditable on land ; the vessel herself 
scarcely in proper trim, and all things bespeaking a 
recent departure from port, not omitting the intolera- 
ble bilge water, which drives me out of the cabin 
altogether. Light wind from the S.E. 



8 VOYAGE TO NEW YORK. 

OQth. — At three, this morning, I was awoke, or 
rather aroused, by the sound of very heavy rain. Went 
on deck and found it pouring almost in torrents, 
accompanied with thunder. The storm lasted little 
more than an hour, when the sun arose in cloudless 
beauty, and a gentle breeze from the S. carried us 
along at the rate of four or five knots for the remain- 
der of the day. A circumstance occurred which occa- 
sioned some amusement. One of the sailors, happening 
to descend the hatchway, was not a little surprised 
to observe a pair of legs obtruding from amongst the 
packages, and judging they must have an owner, he 
began to make investigation accordingly ; but it was 
not until some time had elapsed, and they had sus- 
tained a repetition of pretty harsh usage, that any 
one could be found willing to assert proprietorship 
over them. At length the owner erected himself, and, 
after examination had, he turned out to be an Irish 
ship-carpenter, who, on the morning of our leaving 
Liverpool, having a disposition to visit New York, 
and it being somewhat inconvenient to him to 
make the necessary disbursements, had contrived to 
stow himself away, as mentioned, and had thus re- 
mained about two days without food of any descrip- 
tion, if I except the sailors' specific, — grog, a bottle 
of which he had provided himself with before his con- 
cealment ; had he not been discovered he says it was 
his intention to have kept below until he thought we 
were about half seas over, when we surely could not 
have refused to carry him through. He appears one 
of those stupid, half-witted I'ellows to whom a change 



VOYAGE TO NEW YORK. 9" 

of country can prove but of slight advantage, and 
Captain Thompson has thrown a sad damp upon his 
prospects by telling him that he will put him upon 
the first homeward-bound vessel we can speak that 
will take charge of him, so that it is questionable 
even yet if Paddy effect his passage. 

27th. — Passed three American ships, supposed bound 
to Liverpool, but without speaking any of them ; the 
wind chopping about all day, occasionally carrying 
us nine or ten knots, and as often not more than two. 

2Sth. — The night has been stormy. Wind this morn- 
ing N.W., making very poor way. We, however, consi- 
der ourselves clear of the Channel, and are beginning 
to experience the fine bold swell of the Atlantic. Few 
of the passengers have yet settled matters with their 
stomachs, and appear on deck (those who come at 
all) with most ghastly visages. Amongst those in the 
cabin we have an elderly lady, sixty-four years of age, 
whose only son, if not only surviving relative, has been 
settled in America about fourteen years, and with 
whom she is now going to close her days. She comes 
from near Nottingham, and, though she has never 
been at sea before, bears the voyage admirably, and 
out of four, is quite the best lady passenger on board. 
On my anticipating the pleasure she would derive 
from meeting her son again, the tears started into her 
eyes, and she replied, " Oh, Sir, if I did not feel it 
beyond expression, do you think I could have been 
induced, at my time of life, and all alone, to have 
taken such a journey as this, and when we reach New 
York I shall then have 700 miles to travel, but there 



10 VOYAGE TO NEW YORK. 

my boy will meet me, and " She could proceed 

no farther. Heaven grant her the realization of every 
hope which animates her aged breast. 

We have not averaged to-day more than five knots, 
and that a point or two out of our course : 'tis well we 
are out of the Channel, or witli the wind as it is, and 
blowing fresh, we could make no way at all. Crept into 
my berth about eleven o'clock. Let not the landsman 
suppose this getting into a comfortable bed for a night 
of undisturbed repose ; 'tis quite another thing I 
assure him : but let him fancy a small room (though 
called a State Room) some three feet by six, and six 
feet high, in which are placed, one above the other, 
two tolerable-sized kneeding troughs, and he will then 
have as good an idea as is necessary of a dormitory 
at sea. This said berth is not boarded at the bottom, 
(would it were,) but made in the ordinary way with 
sacking, only braced down the middle instead of the 
sides, leaving, when at all relaxed, a most comfortless 
hollow in that part, into whicli, of course, you roll 
immediately you enter, and, except when the lurching 
of the ship throws you for a moment upon the side, 
must there remain until you turn out altogether; pro- 
bably, if you happen to occupy the lower berth, with 
the over-workings of some uneasy stomach incon- 
veniencing you from above. At any rate there is the 
incessant dashing of the waves close to your head, 
— the noise of the helm, trampling on deck, and many 
et celeras to break in upon sound slumber. When 
you rise, if shaving be the first operation, and the 
motion of the vessel considerable, it may prol)ably be 



VOYAGE TO NEW YORK. 11 

about half an hour before you can accomplish it, 
chiefly by holding on with one hand whilst using the 
razor with the other, and you may consider yourself 
pretty fortunate if the floor of your apartment be not 
swimming with the contents of sundries capsized in 
the interim. This is perhaps rather the worst side of 
the picture, though most " that go down to the sea 
in ships" have to pass through it; in fact, to a lands- 
man, from beginning to end, 'tis no place of comfort : 
it may be endured we know, and so may a prison ; 
and often have I thought, with Johnson, if there be 
a choice of evils, the latter has it. 

29^A. — Very little wind from the S.W. Spoke an 
Irish brig bound to Belfast. Paddy escapes transfer. 
The ship Ganges, of Philadelphia, which left Liverpool 
with us, and of which we have generally kept ahead, 
passed us this morning : her cargo is light, whilst 
ours, I believe, is the heaviest ever conveyed by any 
packet from Liverpool to Nevt^ York ; consequently, 
with light winds, she beats us, and, vice versa, when 
blowing fresh, we beat her, being able to carry more 
sail. About noon, the wind got more in our favour, 
and, until the evening of the following day, we made 
our course at the rate of six or eight knots. It then 
changed right ahead, and at night increased to a gale. 

July \st. — This morning it blows tremendously, 
and just as unfavourably, rather increasing than 
diminishing throughout the day and night. 

2nd. — 4 a. m. The storm still rages furiously and 

rolls us about, as if, at times, it were ready to roll us 

over, to the no small discomfiture of the lady part 
b2 



12 tOYAGE to NEW YORK. 

of oar cargo, who I can perceive would gladly ex- 
change their present situation for very humble accom- 
modation on land, and no wonder; the sea, in a storm, 
and to be upon it, (herein consists all the difference,) 
may well excite apprehension in the female mind. 
I have seen some of the other sex unable to contem- 
plate it with any great degree of composure, and the 
satisfaction of being on a good seaworthy vessel is 
sensibly felt by all. Let none ever be induced, from 
the consideration of a trifling saving of expense, or 
any other motive, to cross the Atlantic in one which 
has not been recommended to them by those on whose 
judgment, and sincerity too, (for the deceptions prac- 
tised upon the ignorant by the charterers of vessels 
are infamous,) they can fully rely. The hazards and 
privations of sailors are enough, at any rate, without 
adding to the list of evils a crazy or even suspicious 
barque. At noon it began to moderate, and before 
night the wind nearly died away. 

3/*(/. — Strange contrast. This morning we are 
becalmed, and the same ocean which yesterday was 
rearing its waves around us, and drenching us with 
its yeasty spray, is now, excepting a long swell at 
intervals, as quiescent as a lake, and without a ripple 
breaking its surface. It is also much warmer, though 
accompanied with an unpleasant drizzling rain. Took 
breakfast at the cabin table, for the first time since 
coming on board, the smell (stench) of the bilge water, 
now beginning to subside, having hitherto induced 
me greatly to prefer the deck. Fare excellent. Tea, 
coffee, boiled ham and eggs, anchovies, pickled shad- 



VOYAGE TO NEW YORK. iS 

cold tongue and other meat, bread, of the finest Ame- 
rican flour, baked fresh every day, biscuits, &c. &C' 
The hours for meals are : — Breakfast, at eight ; lunch, 
at twelve ; dinner, at three ; tea, coffee, or supper, 
just to your choice, at eight. We have a cow on 
board, which furnishes an abundant supply of milk ; 
four or five fine sheep ; lialf a dozen small pigs; some 
geese, and ducks and fowls unnumbered. Poultry^ 
however, soon become very poor staff at sea. I know 
of no animals which do not suffer by sailing excepting 
pigs; they appear to thrive quite as well as on land. Our 
wines and spirits are first rate, champaign especially ; 
ale and London porter equally good, and all supplied 
unsparingly. In short, whoever could find in his 
heart to desire more after this fashion, than is fur- 
nished in the New York packets, deserves to be treated 
to a bread and water diet for the remainder of his 
days; though, as one not estimating these matters 
over highly, I still hold there are drawbacks enough 
to counterbalance all the good recorded, and I could 
partake of less sumptuous fare on land with a far 
keener relish. Tastes, however, vary ; and I know 
those, whom I verily believe, without further induce- 
ment by this admirable bill of fare, might be tempted 
across the Atlantic. I once saw a little Scotchman 
under similar circumstances, who, had the voyage 
continued as many months as it did weeks, would surely 
not long have survived it. Throughout the twenty-four 
hours there was scarcely a successive five minutes 
that he did not occupy either in eating, drinking, or 
sleeping, and, to do him justice, never did I see m 



14 VOYAGE TO NEW YORK, 

many f^ood things so unprofitably bestowed. John 
Abernethy would at once have called him a '' perfect 
beast." Rain all day. 

4th. — During the night a breeze has sprung up just 
from the quarter we would not have had it, and it is 
again blowing fresh. Spoke an English brig bound 
for Liverpool. This is the anniversary of the Ame- 
rican declaration of independence, the signing of 
which memorable deed took place on the 4th July, 
1776, and is consequently fifty-four years ago. Libe- 
rated the cork of an extra bottle of champaign upon 
the occasion. 

6th. — Rain all night. Wind from the same quarter 
(N. W.) Spoke a brig from New Orleans, bound to 
Hamburgh. 

6ih. — The finest day since leaving port, though 
nearly becalmed. Fell into chat with an intelligent 
person from the Sister Isle. Amongst other things he 
tells me that the quality of/lax is much deteriorating 
in Ireland, in consequence of the farmers having got 
into the habit of using lime to their land, which they 
were not formerly accustomed to do ; and that now 
nearly all their finest flax comes from Holland. I 
know nothing myself of the matter, but if it be so, 
it is worthy of notice. A beautiful evening. Some 
of our party on deck; I believe for the first time since 
putting to sea. 

7/A. — After a fine morning, about noon it came on 
to rain, and blow fresh ; and this evening we are 
going near ten knots : — great work with our weight 
of ladins'. 



VOYAGE TO NEW YORK. 15 

Bth. — It has rained all night; but the wind has 
been favourable, and continues easterly this morning. 
We hope to have made one-third of our way. 
Evening, quite a gale ; scudding with close- reefed 
sails ; most unseasonable weather ; far more like 
March or November than July. I pity the poor far- 
mers in England if it be no better with them. 

9/A.-Wind still favourable (N.N. E. ;) but ex- 
cessively cold. 

lOtk to I3th. — AVind got more ahead, and we made 
but little progress. The past has been a tempestuous 
night ; the ship rolling and pitching so that we could 
scarcely keep in our berths. Capt. T. remarks that 
latterly his summer have been much more boisterous 
and unpleasant than his winter voyages. Have had our 
lower studding-sail-boom carried away. What little 
way we are making is quite out of our coui*se. 

14//i. — Wind still ahead, but more moderate ; and 
the sea gone down considerably. So far an improve- 
ment upon yesterday, when we were pitched about, 
lumber-like, and to no purpose. Have discovered, 
partly by accident, that our mainyard has been 
seriously injured, in fact, nearly broken through by 
the gale ; had it given way during its continuance, 
the loss of the mainsail would have been inevitable, 
with, probably, much other damage. All hands 
busily employed in rigging out another ; and this 
evening, by dint of great exertion, we have hoisted it 
aloft, and attached the sail to it as before. We now 
only wait a fair wind. 

I6th. — Rain all night. Wind dead ahead. Three 
\\ eeks out to-day. 



16 VOYAGE TO NEW YORK. 

IGth. — Wind turning a trifle in our favour, and 
doing- sometliing better than standing still, which is 
more than we have been able to say for several days 
past. Took a bath this morning, (a luxury I have 
much missed since coming on board,) by getting over 
the bows of the vessel, and stationing one of the men 
aloft, whilst another supplied him with water, fresh 
from the ocean, to shower upon me; no finer sea 
bathing could be desired, though I seem to be the 
only one manifesting the least partiality for it. We 
have had a drizzling rain, or rather very dense fog, 
through the day, a kind of weather generally ex- 
perienced about the banks of Newfoundland, which 
we are now nearly approaching, our latitude being 
43|, and longitude 45. This evening the wind ahead 
again. 

\7th. Morning. Wind ahead and enveloped in 
fog. Spoke a very fine brig, the Mary, from Balti- 
more ; could not learn distinctly where she was 
bound. Evening. Wind a little more to the south; 
going about six knots. 

ISth. — Still a dense fog, which obliges us to keep 
a sharp look-out for sails, and also for ice-bergs, fre- 
quently met with here at this season of the year, of 
prodigious size, to the destruction of many vessels 
The packet-ship, Liverpool, a few years ago, on her 
first voyage, or intended voyage to Liverpool from 
New York, struck upon one of them at mid-day, and 
went down in fifteen minutes ; the crew and all saved 
by taking to the boats, and landed at Newfoundland, 
from whence they returned to New York. Made 



\OYAGE TO NEW YORK. 17 

several attempts to obtain sounding's, but without 
success. Vivid and incessant lightning from eight in 
the evening till after midniglit. 

19^A.--Wind S. W. by W. ; as adverse as it can 
blow. Fog, with occasional heavy rain. Have not 
had an observation for days ; but find a bottom with 
a line of forty-three fathoms, and consider ourselves 
about the middle of the banks. Twelve p.m. nearly a 
calm, and very vivid lightning again. 

20th. — Wind this mornino^ from theE.N.E. thouorh 
so light as to be of little service to us. It has, how- 
ever, pretty much dispelled the fog, and rendered it 
more agreeable in that respect. Passed a number of 
brigs, &c., chiefly French, engaged in fishing. The 
season commences in April, and ends in November, 
in which time the quantity taken is incredible. 
We have been trying to hook one, but as we are 
going two or three knots, of course, stand but little 
chance. 

21s/. — Just off" the banks, and nearly becalmed; 
otherwise a charming day. One of the finest I ever 
passed at sea. The sky perfectly cloudless, and the 
horizon singularly clear and distinct, so as we rarely — 
never — see it in England. It is indeed a most welcome 
change after the w^retched Bank weather we have been 
groping through, and has not failed to produce a very 
sensible effect upon the animal spirits of every living 
thing on board, as something, however, too fair to 
last, towards evening, clouds and squalls succeed ; 
the wind ahead ; and to-night we are tossed about 
j ust after the old fashion. 



18 TOYAGE TO NEW YORK. 

22nd. — Stormy. Wind ahead. As great a con- 
trast to yesterday as is well possible. 

23rd. — Finer. And the wind so that we have made 
a tolerable slant throughout the day. 

24th. — After noon we had a brisk wind from the 
cast, carrying us eight knots, which towards evening 
increased to ten or eleven. About ten o'clock it began 
to rain very heavily, and became excessively dark. An 
hour afterwards, on a sudden, the wind chopped round 
to the west, and commenced blowing furiously from 
that quarter; had but just time to get the sails in ere 
it turned us end for end. Rain all night. 

2Qth. — Morning. Wind ahead. Evening more 
northerly, and very cold. Making pretty good way. 

2r>//i..— After two o'clock this morning a famous 
breeze sprung up from the N.E. : going nine or ten 
knots. About three days, at this rate, would land us 
at New York, but I am scarcely sanguine enough to 
anticipate such unwonted despatch. I hope, at all 
events, our voyaging may terminate with the month, 
though, considering the winds and weather we have 
had, so far from having any thing to complain of, the 
wonder is how we have got on so well. Our ponderous 
cargo, too, has been against us. 

27//}.. — Had a good wind until noon to-day, when 
it became completely calm, so incessant and sudden 
are the changes at sea, the more so on approaching 
land, and our latitude to-day being 41** 5', and lon- 
gitude 66**, leaves us about 320 miles to run to our 
destined port. A shark a\ as playing round us for an 
hour or two in the morning, apparently about ten 



VOYAGE TO NEW YORK. 19 

feet in length. Shortly before observing him, myself 
and another had been talking of a bathe ; a perform- 
ance we were well satisfied to dispense with after- 
wards. A shark, in seizing its prey, has to turn on 
its side, the under jaw being so much shorter than the 
upper one, as to prevent it taking it in the ordinary 
position in which it swims.^ — Evening. Wind from 
N.W. making five to seven knots. 

28/^. — Very foggy. In the midst of the Nantucket 
shoals. Soundings at thirty- three fathoms. Mates 
and crew busily employed in painting, scraping, and 
scouring the ship ; repairing and blacking the rigging, 
&c. ; getting all in the trimmest possible order to 
enter port. Passed very near one of the Havre packets. 
Should doubtless, now, discover many vessels if the 
atmosphere were clearer. 

29 tk. — Still foggy. Fair wind from the E. Have 
been out five weeks to-day. Got an imperfect obser- 
vation, by which we suppose ourselves nearly in the 
latitude of New York, and are, consequently, steering 
due west. Spoke a brig from Portland bound to the 
West Indies. 

30th. — A gale from the S.E. all night, which has 
been sending us along at the rate of nine or ten knots, 
but, as an abatement to so much good luck, has 
deprived us of our foretopsail, shivering it to pieces. 
Surely such summer weather was never seen be- 
fore ! Men aloft diligently on the look-out for land, 
but the horizon is so thick that we may be almost 
close upon it ere we can discover it, and unless it 
clear up, shall soon be obliged to lay to. Nine 



20 AT ANCHOR WITHIN SANDY HOOK. 

o'clock : it has become clearer, and one of the mates 
irom aloft has just sung out, " Land !'' Thrice 
w elcome sound ! It is, doubtless, some part of Long 
Island, and thus satisfied, we are crowding all the sail 
we can. 

Evening. — At length riding safely at anchor with- 
in Sandy Hook, sixteen miles from New York, so 
thai we may fully anticipate a termination of our 
voyage to-morrow. About two hours before we an- 
chored two boats came alongside of us, the one for 
the letter-bag, the other for the newspapers for the 
different reading rooms. Their first inquiries were 
after the health of our most gracious Majesty, whom 
we could only report alive when we left; more, I 
imagine, than the next packet will be able to do. 
Shortly after despatching these boats, a pilot boarded 
us. It is the finest evening we have had for long, 
so that we have distinctly seen them sending up 
rockets from the Castle Gardens in New York, the 
scene of nightly displays of fire-works, I am told, 
during the summer months, and a very favourite 
resort for the fashionables of the city. Most of our 
party making merry with champaign, rejoiced at the 
coming prospect. 

_^\st. — A brilliant morning, but no wind. Are be- 
ginning to feel it very warm. The pilot reports it 
tlie hottest summer they have had since the year 1822, 
lor some days the thermometer in the shade having 
stood at 93"; — appalling intelligence after the tempe- 
rature we have been exposed to for the last five weeks, 
muffled up in top-coats and cloaks, and shivering even 



APPROACH TO NEW YORK, AND LANDING. 2 1 

then, and now finding- oar lightest summer attire 
almost oppressive. — Scarcely a breath of air until four 
o'clock, when we had just enough to put us in motion 
for the city, the approach to which is very fine, 
heightened by the beauty of the day and the extreme 
clearness of the atmosphere. The shores on each side, 
though a good deal wooded, have, nevertheless, a rich 
and cultivated appearance, often ornamented with a 
handsome villa, and every where well guarded with 
fortifications. Governor's Island, nearer the city, also 
a military station, is a beautiful object, and soon the 
Battery, Castle Gardens, many of the churches and 
public buildings, and Brooklyn on the heights, with 
crouds of shipping in the Bay, arrest the attention, 
and cannot fail to excite deep interest in the mind of 
a stranger ; but I was withdrawn from the contem- 
plation of this imposing scene to be introduced to one 
still more agreeable : two of my fi'iends, having ob- 
served our apjjroach, had come off in a boat to give 
me a welcome to their shores, which I was within a 
little of reaching* before they knew any thini^: of my 
intention of visiting them, the ship by which I had 
been advised of having only arrived on the precedintr 
day, though it had the start of us from Liverpool 
nearly a week. Mutual congratulations exchanged, I 
accompanied them ashore, and shortly after crossed 
the river to the residence of a friend in Brooklyn, 
situated immediately opposite to New York. Upon 
ascending the elevation on which it is partly built, 1 
was much struck with the fineness and extent of the 
view which it commanded, embracing the whole of 



22 NEW YORK AND BROOKLYN, 

the city, the bay, the vessels in the East River, as it 
is termed, (though more properly I should think a 
strait or sound,) Governor's and other Islands, the 
Highlands of the Hudson, as well as the shores of New 
Jersey. The houses in the principal streets have a 
particularly neat and elegant appearance : they are 
chiefly built of wood, and painted white, with green 
latticed blinds on the outside ; and most of them I 
observe are furnished with conductors. For the entire 
length of some of the streets, weeping willows are 
planted on each side, which, independent of being 
very ornamental, afford a delightful shade to the 
fronts of the houses, and protect the foot-paths even 
from a noon-day sun. It was late before I returned 
to the city, which I had engaged to do with a friend, 
who had taken up his quarters at a boarding-house 

(seemingly more in fashion here than hotels) in V 

W.-street ; but I am sorry to say it proved much too 
early for my comfort, having scarcely retired to bed 
ere I found myself assailed by those most loathsome 
of nocturnal annoyances, bugs, and have arisen this 
TciOYnmg,{\st August) with one of my organs of vision 
nearly closed, besides divers other injuries, altogether 
a very pretty figure to make my dehut in a foreign 
city. Madame hostess, however, promises another 
room to-night, and strict search during the day, so 
I try my luck once more. — Chiefly in-doors, and 
little to remark. 

2nd. — Of the past night I shall only observe that it 
was infinitely worse than its predecessor, the vile 
vermin compelling me to effect a precipitate retreat 



NEW YORK AND BROOKLYN. 23 

from my apartment, and indeed from the domicile 
altogether, into the street, before one o'clock this 
morning ; and what, with the loss of two entire nights' 
rest, and being swelled and inflamed from head to 
foot, into the bargain, I feel now as good for nothing 
as, under such circumstances, I may well be supposed 
to do. But enough — 'tis as poor a subject for others 
as myself. — This being the first business day since my 
landing, my first business upon it was to obtain a 
permit from the Custom-house to bring my luggage 
ashore, for which article I was charged 20 cents. The 
officers here, since the tariff came so extensively into 
operation, are more precise and troublesome than in 
England, first obliging you to swear, or affirm, to the 
contents of your packages, and afterwards subjecting 
them to as scrupulous a search as if no such ceremony 
had been exacted. — Found the passengers, officers, 
and crew of our vessel, natives as well as strangers, 
complaining grievously of the heat of the weather, 
though the thermometer in the shade was scarcely 
standing at 80° ; but the contrast between that and 58*^ 
and 60«; which we had it for the chief part of our 
passage, is too considerable to accommodate one's-self 
to, very agreeably, at so short a notice. 

Dined with my friends at Brooklyn, and, after my 
two nights' experience of the state of things in the city, 
and an assurance that I might go elsewhere and fare 
no better, was well satisfied to accept of their very 
pressing invitation to continue where I was, and pre- 
serve what remained to me of my English blood, for 

some worthier opportunity and assailants. 
c 2 



24 NEW YORK AND BROOKLYN. 

Srd. — Rose this morning vastly refreshed, and feeling 
myself again. In the course of the day made a pretty 
extensive perambulation of the city, of which, how- 
ever, I shall not, at present, attempt any description ; 
as a whole 1 was highly pleased with it. The City- 
hall and the Exchange are indeed noble edifices. 
Many of the banks, hotels, and other public places, 
are very spacious and elegant; and the Battery, 
Castle Gardens, Broadway, &c., are well worthy the 
admiration they so generally excite ; but, as a striking 
defect, I noticed a great want of uniformity in the 
buildino- of the houses, and, in the business streets 
particularly, of a total inattention to neatness, if I 
may not add cleanliness. At a future opportunity, 
and upon further acquaintance, will return to the sub- 
ject again, and offer a somewhat more respectful 
notice of this great city. — Revisited Brooklyn in the 
evening, of which, the more I see, the more I admire 
it. It is nothing less than a charming situation, inter- 
esting in itself, and so completely removed from the 
noise, dust, and bustle of the town, and yet through 
the medium of the steam-boats regularly crossing the 
river every five minutes during the day, seeming to 
possess every advantage of a residence in it. Its pre- 
sent population amounts to 15,000, but it is very 
rapidly increasing, and will, no doubt, continue to do 
so, many of the principal merchants, &c. now giving 
it a decided preference to the upper parts of the city. 
After a day spent there, what a luxury to ascend its 
beautiful heights, inhale the fresh and pure breezes 
from the water, and feast the eye with all the varied 



BROOKLYN, &C. 25 

attractions which the scene unfolds ! I liave found it 
so, at least, ere yet I have scarcely known it. Mucli 
of the land in the neighbourhood of Brooklyn appears 
to be devoted to the raising of fruits and vegetables 
for its own and the New York markets; prodigious 
quantities of which are taken across the water daily, 
as, also, from other parts of the island. I have counted 
eleven waggons driven off one steam-boat at a time ; 
and a friend, who was with me, told me there were 
frequently more. It is besides a place of considerable 
trade ; contains tanneries, distilleries, cotton and linen 
cloth manufactories, rope-walks, market-houses, and a 
great number of stores, warehouses, &c. There are 
several places of worship, a Lancasterian school, and 
other very respectable seminaries. — Thermometer at 
noon to day 81®. A thunder-storm in the evening, 
which greatly relieved the air. Night temperate and 
pleasant. 

4:th. — Previous to setting out on my intended 
excursion to the western part of the state, wishing to 
see something of Long Island, and having given a 
relative, resident near Flushing, a promise of spend- 
ing a few days with him, took my place this afternoon 
upon a steam-boat, plying daily to different parts of 
of the Sound, to Whitestone, about eighteen miles 
distant from New York. We had a pretty numerous 
party on board. The day was beautiful, and the 
scenery along the banks of the river of a very interest- 
ing character. About midway between New York and 
Whitestone we passed by Horll Gatt, or Hurl Gate, 
(by some even less respectfully designated) a narrow. 



26 FLUSHING. 

crooked, and dangerous strait, occasioned by huge 
projecting rocks, which very much contract the bed of 
the river, and produce tremendous whirlpools and 
eddies, formerly to the loss of many vessels which at- 
tempted the passage, though no accident of the kind 
has recently occurred, the navigation being better 
understood : to strangers, however, it has still rather 
a formidable appearance. At high water the rocks 
are nearly covered, and the current but little ruffled. 

On arriving at Whitestone, a mere landing, I 
was met by a conveyance, which my friend had 
kindly despatched for me, and soon set down at his 

abode. — W- left England about ten years ago, 

married into one of the most respectable families on 
the island, purchased a nice farm, and is now settled 
in the midst of his wife's relations, and surrounded 
by as fine a little group of his own as I have often 
seen ; doubtless as happy as such a pleasing combi- 
nation of circumstances can render him, and assuring 
me, that, if an estate in England were left to him, 
he would not cross the Atlantic again to take posses- 
sion of it. I know not, indeed, wherein would con- 
sist the inducement. 

In the morning, the 6th, I accompanied him over 
his farm, which comprises near two hundred acres of 
land, with an excellent house, outbuildings, &c. The 
quality of the soil, like most in the island, is rather 
light, but, with the aid of manure, produces excellent 
crops of all descriptions of grain and various kinds of 
fruit. He has a beautiful young peach orchard, con- 
taining one thousand trees, now loaded with fruit. 



FLUSHING. 27 

selling in New York market, at from a dollar to a dollar 
and a half per bushel ; twenty or thirty acres occu- 
pied with apples, which thrive remarkably well, and 
are worth two dollars per barrel, of two bushels and a 
half. There are nearly fifty acres of woodland upon 
the farm, in which I observed a good deal of fine 
timber of different sorts, viz. the common, the white, 
and the red oaks, cedar, hickory, sassafras, birch, 
chesnut, and locust ; the latter a wood much in re- 
quest, and sells from sixty cents to a dollar per foot- 

W has taken considerable pains with his stock, 

and has a fine breed of cows, sheep, and pigs, with 
some very handsome and valuable young horses : — 
quite entered into the spirit of farming. 

The morning was very sultry, and whilst walking we 
remarked an unusual heat in the ground, so much so as 
when off the turf to be quite unpleasant to the feet. 
About mid- day it began to cloud over, became exceed- 
ingly dark, and a thunder-storm succeeded, which, 
whilst it lasted, was a complete tornado, more violent, 

W tells me, than he has known for years. It 

has done great damage amongst the fruit and other 
trees in the neighbourhood, torn some large ones up 
by the roots, and broken almost every branch oflf 
others. In half an hour after it was over the sun broke 
out again as bright as ever, and, though it rained very 
heavily during the storm, upon going out the only re- 
maining moisture I could perceive was upon the leaves 
of a few Swedish turnips which were growing in the 
garden. So essential to vegetation are frequent 
showers in this island in the hot months. In a dry 



28 FLUSHING. 

summer tliey suffer much. — As a thing which has at- 
tracted my attention since coming into the country, I 
may notice the endless variety of the insect tribe with 
which the creation every where teems, many of them 
unknown in England, and generally too insignificant 
to occasion inconvenience. Omitting bugs, to be met 
with in most countries and horrible every where, the 
most troublesome on the list is the musqueto, much 
resembling our gnat, only larger, but the bite of 
which is venomous in the extreme ; and even if you 
can manage to keep them off by day, their perpetual 
buzzing around you is very annoying ; and at night, 
unless you envelop yourself or the entire of your bed 
in a net, and exclude all light from the apartment, 
you are tormented with them beyond measure ; and 
what with locusts, crickets, tree-toads, kater-dids, 
grasshoppers, &c. &c., the din and bustle of the 
country, though of a very different kind, seems 
scarcely less than that of the tovyn, and strikes by no 
means agreeably, as contrasted with the melody of the 
feathered choir in England, scarcely one of which 
has any note in America. 'Tis true, the winter effec- 
tually suppresses the nuisance, a remedy, you will 
say, as bad as the disease; and a stranger might 
deem it unworthy of notice at any time, but let him 
make his first landing here in the month of July or 
August, and I will venture to saj', unless he be both 
deaf and invulnerable, he does not pronounce it so 
afterwards. 

6th. — Much of this and the succeeding day were 
occupied in visiting farms in the neighbourhood, and 



FLUSHING. 29 

in making such memorandums on agricultural sub- 
jects, as appeared to me most interesting ; briefly as 
follows : — First stating that Long Island (called also 
Nassau Island) belongs to the state of New York; 
that it is about 115 miles long from east to west, and 
20 broad ; that is, at its greatest breadth, not averaging 
more than ten. It is bounded on the south by the 
Atlantic, and on the north by Long Island Sound, 
which separates it from the continent. Its eastern 
extermity terminates in a point, and westward it ex- 
tends into the iN'arrows, about eight miles below New 
York. It is divided into three counties, King-'s 
County, (the longest settled, I believe, in the state,) 
Queen's County, and Suffolk County, the latter ex- 
tending over two- thirds of the island. — The character 
of the land in Long Island is very various ; but the 
north side of it, for twenty or thirty miles up, com- 
prises the best. Farms in this part are to be purchased 
at from forty to one hundred dollars per acre, accord- 
ing to buildings and improvements upon them, &c. 
To the south the soil is very sandy, and, in some parts, 
not v/orth cultivation. The east is very much over- 
grown with pine forests. — Indian corn appears to be 
considered the staple article of produce, yielding 
from 25 to 50 bushels (of 6Q lbs) per acre, and worth 
from 50 to 60 cents per bushel. Wheat may average 
20 bushels (of 61 lbs.) per acre, and the price 1 dollar. 
Oats, 30 bushels, (of 30 lbs.) price 37| cents. Barley, 
25 bushels, (of 52 lbs.) price 62| cents. Rye, 20 
bushels, price 62 1 cents. Clover seed not gathered. 
Hay, from 30 to 40 cwt, per acre, price 8 to 10 dollars 



30 FLUSHING. 

per ton. ' Potatoes and turnips, much as in England, 
the price of the former 37f cents per bushel; the 
latter not much grown for cattle. Horses, for farming 
purposes, are worth from 60 to 75 dollars; fancy 
horses, from 130 to 400 dollars. Milch cows, from 15 
to 40 dollars. Sheep, (fat) 2 dollars; store sheep, 
1 dollar. Pigs, (fed) 5 dollars per 100 lbs. weight. 
Beef, by the carcase, from 6 to 8 dollars per 100 lbs. 
hide and tallow given in. Butter usually sells for 
about 18 cents the lb. ; no cheese made. Turkeys are 
worth 1 dollar. Geese, 50 to 75 cents. Ducks, the 
couple, 75 cents. Fowls, 62| cents. Eggs, 12 cents 
per dozen; apples and peaches, already noticed, 
with melons, strawberries, cherries, and currants, are 
produced in abundance, and sold at remunerating 
prices. 

The natural grasses of the island seldom grow 
stout enough to mow, but the artificial ones thrive 
well, and will average from 25 to 30 cwt. for four 
years, though, of course, this is much dependant 
upon the dryness or wetness of the season. Manure, 
or ashes, are every where requisite, and much used: 
a plentiful supply obtained from New York : the ulti- 
mate cost on the land about twenty dollars per acre. 
The salt marshes also, and frequent inlets from the 
sound, afford great quantities of marine vegetable 
manure, the salt grass being of little value for other 
purposes. Fallowing is not much practised. The 
land tilled about equally by horses and oxen. 

The price given to farming men through the summer 
season (say for eight months) is from eight to twelve 



FLUSHING. 31 

dollars per month ; in the winter from four to six 
dollars per month, always boarding them, — the inva- 
riable practice throughout the country. Women, five 
dollars per month, the year round, and board. The 
usual hours of labour are from sun-rise to sun-set. 

The most general kind of fencing is stone walls, the 
erection of which cost about 125 cents the rod ; some 
have a stone foot, with post and rails above, raised at 
rather less expense. 

The roads in the island, though a little too sandy, 
may, upon the whole, be considered good. The cost 
of repairing them to the farmer about five or six dol- 
lars to every hundred acres of land he occupies. 

There are very ready conveyances to New York 
both by land and water,* principally by steam-boats : 
passage for a person 2-5 cents ; freight for fruit, grain. 
Sec. 3 cents per bushel. The expense of carting by 
land, (a load of hay, &c.) when a team and man are 
hired for the purpose, is one dollar and a half 

One great advantage attaching to Long Island, or 
the west end of it, as a situation for farming, is its 
contiguity to New York, in consequence of which it 
is always furnished with a superior market for its 
various productions, particularly butter, fruit, and 
vegetables; and oftentimes, in the blockade of winter, 

* When 1 say by land, I mean, of course, to Brooklyn, at which 
place the sound, or river, is only three-quarters of a mile in width, 
and where, by means of floating slips, horses and carriages are 
driven without any difficulty upon the steam-boats, and conveyeJ 
across, in a few minutes, with as much facility as if upon a bridge. 
How is it that we do not adopt a similar plan at many of our ferries, 
where it could be used with so much advantage? At Runcorn, 
above Liverpool, for instance. 

D 



32 FLUSHING. 

articles of bulk and weight may be conveyed to the 
rity, when, from the difficulty and expense of carriage, 
they are prohibited from places more remote ; wood, 
potatoes, hay, and straw, upon these occasions, will 
frequently return the farmer a profit of fifty or even a 
hundred per cent. 

Tiiere is a considerable quantity of game, &c. on 
the island, (though decreasing,) consisting of quail, 
some partridge, woodcocks, snipe, and rabbits, and, 
at seasons, wild ducks innumerable; in the forests to 
the east, deer are also found. The bays, with which 
the island is much indented, abound with varieties of 
excellent fish. 

Upon the whole I should be inclined to say that 
Long Island is rather a situation for an opulent farmer 
than for one of limited means. The land, in the first 
place, is much dearer than in other parts of the state, 
and. in addition, it is cultivated at a greater expense. 
Retired, or half-retired merchants are, therefore, com- 
monly to be found amongst the proprietors, a class of 
persons farming about as much for amusement as 
profit, and, as " the old coachman loves the smack of 
the whip," whenever they feel a taste for business, or 
the city, they are, at any moment, ready to step 
into it. 

The island, for the most part, is considered healthy, 

though the fever and ague is, by no means, unknown. 

The day of my last date {1th August) has been the 

Iwttest since my landing. Thermometer 85^ in the 

shade. 

Took a boat for an hour or two's fishing in one of 



FLUSHING. 33 

the bays, though without any success as far as re 
garded our own efforts, but boarding- a smack we 
hooked out of her well a number of fine black fish, 
and, at the expense of a dollar or so, returned well 
laden to the gentleman's from whose house we started, 
and to his no small surprise, until we discovered the 
manoeuvre we had been practising ; though the fishing 
here is often very good. The master of the smack 
told us that he had about 1800 then in his well, 
weighing from half a pound to five and six pounds 
apiece. Lobsters are caught in great plenty, and 
have been taken of the extraordinary weight of 
twenty-five pounds each ! I myself saw the claw of 
one which, when fresh, I am satisfied would have 
weighed from seven to nine pounds. 

Upon returning to W 's in the evening T was 

presented with a New York paper in which I was not 
surprised to read as follows: — "The packet-ship Man- 
chester, Captain Sketchley, from Liverpool, arrived 
in town yesterday morning, bringing advices of that 
long-anticipated event, the decease of his Majesty 
George the Fourth. The bulletin issued on the occa- 
sion was as follows : — ' Windsor Castle, 26th June, 
1830. It has pleased Almighty God to take from 
this world the King's most excellent Majesty. His 
Majesty expired at a c|uarter-past three o'clock this 
morning without pain. (Signed) H. Halford, — Mat- 
thew John Tierney.' His Majesty was born 12th 
August, 1762, and was consequently in the 68th year 
of his age; ascended the throne 29th January, 1820, 
crowned 19th July, 1821, and died 26th June, 1830. 



34 FLUSHING. 

The Duke of Clarence immediately took tlie oaths 
of office as William the Fourth. He was born 23d 

August, 1765." So for the present ends the career 

of the Georges ! 

SfL — Have felt the night oppressive ; but which I 
attribute, in part, to sleeping with closed windows, (a 
thing, summer or winter, I scarce ever practise,) to 
exclude my musqueto enemies. 

In the morning rode with to Flushing village; 

in our way to which we called at , the finest 

establishment I have seen in the island, and conveying 
every idea of comfort and independence. The house is 
built of wood, and, after the fashion here, has a spa- 
cious entrance hall, with the door at the side, which 
admits of windows along that part, and besides the 
outer door, mostly open, there are also latticed doors 
at each end. The floor is very neatly matted, and the 
hall, throughout, furnished pretty much as a parlour, 
with sofas, settees, &c. It is, beyond any comparison, 
the pleasantest summer room in the house. I know 
not why this style of building should not be more 
frequently adopted in England ; it will by me, 
however, whenever I turn house builder. Here the 
effects of the tornado, mentioned on the 5th, were 
but too sadly apparent, and besides other damage 
we found the family much regretting, as well they 
might, the loss of a most beautiful weeping willow, 
which grew near the house, every branch of which 
had been stripped, and the bare stump only left 
standing. 

Flushing is a neat, lively village, at the head 



FLUSHING. 35 

of the bay, containing a number of good houses, 
stores, some excellent hotels, and several places of 
worship. Dr. Spaftbrd, in his Gazeteer of the State 
of JSTew York thus refers to it : — '* Within a few 
years the fashionables of the metropolis have made 
Flushing, which, indeed, has many attractions, quite 
a place of resort for the butterflies of fashion, at least 
for a part of the year, and it has, of course, genteel 
accommodations, and receives, for its day, many high 
encomiums on the pleasure of a trip to Flushing, the 
town, the bay and harbour, so like * Venice and its 
bay.' But 'the fashions of this world pass away;' 
and I hope this resort may not make Flushing too 
much like Venice, before it take some other direc- 
tion." 

Under the same head is also the following no- 
tice : — "In this town (township) are still remainin^^ 
two white oaks, which, with others long since de- 
stroyed, formed a shade, under which Georji^e Fox 
held a religious meeting in the year 1672. It is well 
known that George Fox was the founder of the sect 
of Friends, or Quakers, and that they erect no monu- 
ments to perpetuate remembrance. The Quakers, 
therefore, regard these trees with lively interest, and 
see in them all that monuments could teach, however 
splendid or costly." 

Returned to W *s to dine ; soon after which, 

with many obliging regrets at the shortness of my 

stay, I again took my departure to Flushing, to meet 

the New York steam-boat. Varying the morning's 

route a little, we passed by what is considered, I be- 
D 2 



36 NEW YORK AND BROOKLYN^ 

lieve, the most complete farm upon the ishind. It 
consists of two hundred acres of land, a very su- 
perior house, a g-ood farm-house, and excellent out- 
buildino's^ beinsc ^^^<^ ^^'<^1^ fenced, and in a high state 
of cultivation. It cost the ori2;inal proprietor 75,000 
dollars, and has lately heen sold for 30,000 dollars. 
Tt is, however, wantinj^' of wood, which greatly de- 
tracts from its value. 

On arriving- at New York, I crossed the ferry to 
Brooklyn, where I was politely welcomed by the 
friends whose hospitable roof I had so recently 
quitted. The temperature of to-day much as yester- 
day. 

9fh. — The night very fine and pleasant, as the 
morning continues. Making up letters for England, 
by the ship Adeline, leaving to-morrow, when I also 
hope to be off on my western journey. 

lOM. — A day of dissatisfaction, having passed it in 
the disappointed expectation of the arrival of a gen- 
tleman from Philadelphia, who had engaged to ac- 
company me into Orange county : come or not I 

start in the morning. 

My worthy friends at Brooklyn are much troubled 
this evening on account of the serious indisposition 
of their infant, from an attack of cholera morbus, a 
disease which carries off a great number of children 
here at this season of the year. Two doctors* have 
been called in, who quite disagree as to the mode 
of treatment, and between them and \\\e disease 

* In this land oF freedom doctor appears to be a title giv<Mi and 
ftssumed ueaily indiscriminately by all of the profession. 



AND STEAM-BOAT ' ALBANY.' 37 

the little sufferer has, I fear, but a poor chance. 
During the late hot weather the number of deaths 
in the city alone amounted, in one week, to 204 ; 
(the usual number about 80,) more than 70 of these 
were under one year old, and 80 under five years 
of age. Many of the churchyards bear melancholy 
testimony to the mortality which at times has pre- 
vailed here; though no bodies are now permitted to 
be interred, except in vaults, in the populous parts 
of the city. The general habits of the people, as 
regards the matter of health, as far as I have observed 
them in public, I consider decidedly bad, — chewing 
quantities of tobacco, drinking spirits, eating much, 
and upon the same occasion, of meat, pastry, fruit, 
and vegetables, and rising almost ere the repast be 
swallowed, with other customs they may not thank 
me to particularize, but the dispensing with which 
I have no doubt would, at least, render dyspepsia, one 
of their most fashionable maladies, and of the very 
name of which I begin to weary, much less frequent 
than it is. 

1 \th. — At seven this morning I got upon the steam 
boat Albany, to proceed up the Hudson river to 
Albany, about 150 miles north of New York, de- 
signing thus to leave Orange county until my return, 
but meeting with my Philadelphia friend just before 
starting, I was persuaded to adhere to my original 
plan of proceeding, and to land with him at New- 
burgh, sixty miles up the river, for the purpose of 
visiting it now. —The fare to that place seventy- five 
cents. 



38 HUDSON RIVER, &C. 

The Albany is the most splendid conveyance I 
ever moved in, in my life, though surpassed, I am 
told, by the North America, belonging to the same 
Company, and fully confirms every report I had 
heard of the vast superiority which the Americans 
display over us in the construction and arrangement 
of their steam- vessels, — in fact, of all vessels. 

It is no uncommon thing for there to be 500 or 
600 persons on board one of these boats at a time. 
This morning there might be about 350 ; some, like 
us, landing at intermediate places, of which there 
are twenty or more, but the greater part going 
through to Albany. The whole distance (150 miles) 
is usually performed in twelve hours, more or 
less. 

In so rapid a transit it is impossible that I should 
describe places, or do any justice to the impressions 
excited by the varied and all-attractive scenery of this 
noble river. I could have wished not to have "thought 
down hours to moments/' but to have prolonged mo- 
ments to hours. I was so hurried on from the sublime 
to the beautiful, and again from the beautiful to the 
sublime, that before the image of one had impressed 
itself upon the mind, the other appeared to take pos- 
session, and every successive change but deepened the 
thrill of admiration and rapture. " On one hand are 
seen summits, crowned with forests, apparently im- 
penetrable to the footsteps of cultivation, and on the 
other, beautiful and extensive lawns, checkered with 
the abodes of husbandry, and glowing in all the rich 
verdure of summer ; while, in the same circumstances 



HUDSON RIVER, kc. 39 

of vision, may be seen the fading view of some town 
or city, and in perspective, a perpetual opening 
scenery of forests and cultivation, plains and moun- 
tains, towns and villages, imparting to the beholder 
all the charms of novelty, with the highest emotions 
of the sublime." 

Almost the name of every place, too, I heard arti- 
culated reminded me of some scene or circumstance 
connected with that glorious struggle for indepen- 
dence, of which this was so frequently the theatre, 
and I exulted within myself at beholding the hallowed 
ground where the great and the brave had fought and 
fallen, but to raise over their ashes a prouder monu- 
ment than the " the storied urn, or animated bust,'* 
the deathless, the blood-bought altar of liberty ! long, 
long may it claim the homage, and the hearts of their 
posterity. 

Commencing the ascent of the river, I find the 
various objects of interest to a stranger well and 
accurately described in an excellent publication, with 
which I supplied myself previous to leaving New 
York ;* and to which, hurried as, upon this occasion, 
my journey must necessarily be, I may have frequently 
to refer. 

The first place noticed is ' Weehawken, about six 
miles from the city, on the west side of the river, the 
ground on which Gen. Hamilton fell in a duel with 
Col. Burr. It is a small spot on the margin of the 
river, with huge rocks on three sides, effectually screen- 

' " Traveller's Guide to the Middle aud Northern States, and 
Canada." 



40 HUDSON RIVER. 

ing it from the observation of man, except from the 
river; and probably has, for that cause, been selected 
as a suitable place for settling affairs of honour. 

' Till vi'ithin a few years it contained a monument 
erected to the memory of General Hamilton by the 
St. Andrew's Society ; but it has been removed. His 
body was deposited in the ground attached to Trinity 
Church in the city, where there is a handsome monu- 
ment, inclosed in an iron railing. 

' The Palisadoes, which make their first appearance 
on the Hudson, about eight miles from New York, 
are a range of rocks, from twenty to five hundred feet 
in height, and extending from thence to Tappan, a 
distance of about twenty miles. In some places they 
rise almost perpendicularly from the shore, and form, 
for several miles in extent, a solid wall of rock, diver- 
sified only by an occasional fishing hut on the beach 
at their base, or wood slides down their sides,* and 
sometimes by an interval of a few acres of arable land, 
aflfording an opening for a landing place and a steep 
road leading to their top. On the opposite side of 
the river the land is varied by hill and dale, cultivated 
fields and woods, with cottages and country seats. 

' Twenty- four miles above New York the river ex- 
pands and forms what is called Tappan Bay. The 
little village of Tappan, a place of much note during 
Andre's and Arnold's conspiracy, is situated on its 
western shore. The spot of Andre's grave is still 
pointed out near this village, though his remains, a 

* For the purpose of conveyii)g fire- wood from the top to the 
bottom of the rocks. 



HUDSON RIVER. 41 

few years since, were conveyed to England by order 
of the British Government The bay is from two to 
five miles wide, and eij^ht miles long. Above Tappan 
village, on the eastern shore, is the village of Tarry- 
town, where Andre was captured by three American 
militia-men.* 

'Near the northern extremity of Tappan Bay, on the 
eastern shore, is the Si7ig Sing state prison. It com- 
prises 800 dormitories or solitary cells, is four stories 
high, and occupies 50 by 500 feet of ground. P'rom 

* ' The names of the three meu were John Paulding, Isaac Van 
Wart, and David Williams. Paulding died some years ago, and 
a monument was erected over his grave by the Corporation of New 
York. Van Wart died more recently, and a monument to his 
memory has been erected by the citizens of West Chester county. 
The following inscriptions are copied from the pedestal of the 
monument : 

On the north side — 

" Here repose the immortal remains of 

Isaac Van Wart, 

An Elder of Greensburgh Church, who died on the 23rd of May, 1828, in 

the 69th year of his age. Having lived the life, he died the death of a 

Christian." 

On the south side — 
"FIDELITY. 
" On the 23rd Sept. 1780, Isaac Van Wart, accompanied by John Pauld- 
ing, and David Williams, all farmers of the county of West Chester, inter- 
cepted Maj. Ai.'dre on his return from the American lines in the character 
of a spy, and, notwithstanding the large bribes offered them for his release, 
nobly disdained to sacrifice their country for gold, — secured and carried 
him to the commanding officer of the district, whereby the dangeious 
and traitorous conspiracy of Arnold was brought to light, the insidious 
designs of the enemy baffled, the American army saved, and our beloved 
country, now free and independent, rescued from most imminent peril." 
On the east side — 

'* ViNCIT amor PATRI.E.'' 

" Nearly half a century before this monument was built, the conscript 
fathers of America had, in the Senate Chamber, voted that Isaac Van 
Wart wa.s a faithful patriot, one in whom the love of country was invin- 
cible, and this tomb bears testimony that the record is true." 
On the west sid( — 

" The citizens of the county of West Chester erected this tomb in tes- 
timony of the high sense they entertained for the virtuous and patriotic con- 
duct of their fellow-citizen, and as a memorial sacred to public gratitude." 



41^ HUDSON RIVER, &C. 

each end of the main building, which stands parallel 
with the river, in a westerly direction, are carried out 
wings 300 feet in extent, forming a spacious inner 
yard open only to the river. The wings, composed 
of marble, are constructed for workshops, a chapel, a 
kitchen, hospital, &c. The chapel is of sufficient 
dimensions to hold 900 persons. The keeper's house, 
on the south-eastern end of the main building, is also 
constructed of marble. The number of convicts in 
the prison in 1829, was about 600. Its erection was 
commenced in 1825; and its cost is estimated at rising 
of 200,000 dollars. 

' The Highlands, or Fishkill Mountains, which first 
appear about forty miles from New York, will attract 
notice, not only from their grandeur and sublimity, 
but also from their association with some of the most 
important events of the revolution. This chain of 
mountains is about sixteen miles in width, and extends 
along both sides of the Hudson, to the distance of 
twenty miles. The height of the principal has been 
estimated at 1565 feet. According to the theory of 
Dr. Mitchell, this thick and solid barrier seems, in 
ancient days, to have impeded the course of the water, 
and to have raised a lake high enough to cover all 
the country to Quaker Hill and the Laconic Mounfai7is 
on the east, and to Shawanyunk and the Cafskill 
Mountains on the west; extending to the Little Falls 
of the Mohawk, and to Hadley Falls on the Hudson ; 
but by some convulsion of nature, the mountain chain 
has been broken, and the rushing waters found their 
way to the now New York Bay. At the entrance of 



HUDSON RIVER, ScC, 4^1 

the Highlands, on the south, is the site of an old fort 
on Verplank's Point, opposite to which stood the fort 
of Stoney Point, which was taken from General Wayne 
in 1778, and re-taken by him the same year. About 
two miles north of this, w hat is termed the Horse-race 
commences. This consists of an angle in the river, 
which, for a little more than a mile, takes an easterly 
direction, contracted to a very narrow space within 
bold and rocky mountains ; one of which, Anthony*s 
Nose, is 1,228 feet high, and is opposite the mouth of 
Montgom.ery Creek, overlooking P'orts Montgomery 
and Clinton. These forts, under command of Gene- 
ral Putnam, were captured by the British troops 
under Sir Henry Clinton, in 1777, when on his way to 
co-operate with General Burgoyne, the news of whose 
surrender, however, reached Sir Henry v hen he had 
proceeded as far as Kingston, fifty miles higher up, 
and changed his advance into a retreat. Bloody 
Pond, so called from its being the place in which the 
bodies of the slain were thrown after the defences of 
these forts, is in the rear of Fort Clinton. 

* West Point, one of the most impregnab}>5 posts dur- 
ing the revolutionary war, is situated on the west side 
of the Hudson, near the entrance of the Highlands 
on the north. It formed one of the most important 
fastnesses of the American army during the eight 
years' contest with the British nation ; and the con- 
sequence attached to it, in a military point of view, 
was evinced by the repeated but unsuccessful efforts 
of the enemy to obtain it. 

'It was here that Arnold conceived the horrid pur- 



44 HUDSON RIVER, &:c. 

pose of bartering his country for gold. This con- 
spiracy, however, which aimed a death-blow at liberty 
in the western hemisphere, resulted only in the uni- 
versal contempt and ignominy of Arnold and the 
lamented death of the unfortunate Andre.* There 

* 'J he circumstances connected with this event are of so peculi- 
arly interesting and affecting a character, that, though rather a 
long one, I cannot feel satisfied to withhold or abridge the following 
extract. 'I'hose familiar with the history of the revolutionary war 
must forgive me — those who are not will • — " Benedict Arnold was 
a native of the State of Connecticut, and from the first commence 
ment of hostilities he had distinguished himself as a brave soldier, 
and an enterprising and skilful commander. He had succeeded iu 
the bold and difiicult attempt to invade the Canadas from the State 
of Maine, where the sutferings of himself and soldiers had excited 
the sensibility of the nation towards him. At Quebec, on Lake 
Champlain, and at Saratoga, he had acted a distinguished part ; 
and, at the time of his appointment to the command of West 
Point, which was in November, 1779, he bore an honourable testi- 
monial of his attachment to his country, in the wounds which he 
had recently received at the surrender of Burgoyne. 

" The residence of General Arnold was at the house and farm of 
Colonel Beverly Robinson, opy)osite West Point, on the east bank 
of the Hudson : — (the house is still a conspicuous object.) — It was 
here that General Arnold made the first proposals to surrender West 
Point, and the forces vmder his command, to the British army. The 
agents on the part of the British were Colonel Beverly Robinson 
and Major .John Andre, who held frequent communications with the 
American General from on board the Vulture sloop of war, then 
lying at Haverstraw Bay, about 10 miles below Stoney and Verplank's 
Points. 

" Major Andre, at that time 29 years of age, had from the natural 
amiablenes of his character, and his superior accomplishments as 
a citizen and a soldier, acquired the unreserved confidence of his 
officers, and was emphatically considered the favourite of the Bri- 
tish army. In early life he had formed an attachment with a lady 
whom he addresses by the name of Delia, and to whom he had 
devoted all the leisure afforded from the intervals of a mercantile 
profession, until the news of her marriage with a more successful 
rival, drove him, disappointed and unfortunate, to the bustling pur- 
suits of the camp. His biographer remarks : — ^ There was some- 
thing ^ingularly interesting in the character and fortunes of Andre* 



HUDSON RIVER, ScC. 45 

are here at present a number of dwelling-houses, and 
a military academy, built on the plain which forms the 

To an excellent undertanding, well improved by education and tra- 
vel, he united a peculiar elegance of mind and manners, and the ad- 
vantages of a pleasing person. His knowledge appeared without 
ostentation. His sentiments were elevated, and inspired esteem, as 
they had a softness that conciliated affection. His elocution was 
handsome — his address easy, polite, and insinuating. By his merit 
he had acqviired the luilimited confidence of his General, and was 
making rapid progress in mihtary rank and reputation. But in the 
height of his career, flushed with new hopes from the execution of 
a project the most beneficial to his party that could be devised, he 
is at once precipitated from the summit of prosperity, and sees all 
the expectations of his ambition blasted, and himself ruined.' 

" A night in the month of Sept., 1780, was chosen for the fatal in- 
terview between Arnold and Andre. Under the pretence of a cor- 
respondence with the British General, on the subject of a treaty of 
peace, Arnold had succeeded in enlisting in his service an intelli- 
gent and respectable citizen of the name of Smith. Under his di- 
rection a boat was despatched to the Vulture sloop of war, then 
lying across the Bay of Haverstraw, about twelve miles distant, to 
convey the British agent to the place appointed by Arnold for their 
meeting. On examining the papers, it was found that a pass had 
been sent for Colonel Beverly Robinson, and also a blank pass for 
whomsoever should be selected for the important trust. In the 
latter pass was inserted the name of John Anderson, under which 
name Andre consented to be conveyed to the shore from whence he 
was destined never to return. The place appointed for the inter- 
view was at the foot of a mountain called Long Clove, on the west 
side of the Hudson. Hither General Arnold had repaired, and on 
the arrival of Andre was found secreted in a thick grove of firs, the 
scene of their subsequent conference. After considerable conversation, 
which lasted till the dawn of day,itwas found impracticable for Andre 
to return without being discovered from the neighbouring forts of 
Stoney and Verplank's Points. He was, therefore, conveyed to the 
house of Smith, the pe'-son who had brought him to the shore, and 
who afterwards accompanied him on his way to New York. At this 
house he procured a coat in exchange for his military dress which he 
had worn on shore, and on the evening of the day after his arrival, 
set out in company with Smith, and under a pass from General 
Arnold, for White Plains, 

" The first nightof their journey was spent at a Mr. M'Koy's, about 
eight miles from the place of their departure. The next day they 



46 HUDSON RIVER, kc. 

bank of the river, 188 feet in height, to which a road 
ascends on the north side of the point. In the back 

rode withovat any interroption, as far as Pine's Bridge, across the 
Croton river, which empties into the Hudson on the west side, at 
the head of Tappan Bay. Here, having received the necessary in 
structions as to the road he was to take, Andre the next morning 
took leave of his guide, and pursued his journey. He had not pro- 
ceeded more than six miles, when he was arrested by the three 
American militia-men, who, with others, were out on a scouting 
party between the out-posts of the two armies. These men stopped 
Major Andre in a narrow part of the road, at a place near Tarry- 
town, by suddenly seizing his horse by the bridle. Instead of imme- 
diately producing the pass which had been furnished him by General 
Arnold, Andre inquired where they belonged tol They answered, 
•' To below." Not suspecting any deception, he replied, " So do I j" 
and declaring himself to be a British Officer, he entreated that he 
might not be detained, being on pressing business. This declaration 
•was followed by further inquiries, which excited still more suspicion, 
and at length induced a resolution on their part to detain him. 
Finding himself thus surprised and a prisoner, he made use of every 
persuasion to regain his liberty, and offered a very valuable gold 
watch for his release; but it was all to no effect. 

" They asked for his papers, which being refused, they commenced 
searching him, and memorandums, in Arnold's handwriting, relating 
to the forces and defences of West Point, were found concealed in 
his boots. 

*' Despatches were immediately forwarded to Gen. Washington, 
together with a letter from Major Andre to General Arnold, appriz- 
ing him of his arrest and detention. In consequence of some mis 
take of the messenger, information of the circumstances reached 
Arnold some time before Washington was apprized at all of them. 
Upon the receipt of the letter Arnold seized the messenger's horse, 
and immediately proceeded down a precipice to the river, where 
boats were always ready to pass to and from West Point, and jump- 
ing into one of them, he directed the hands to row him down the 
river to the Vulture sloop of war. In the meantime information 
bad been received by Washington, and scarce had Arnold passed 
Stoney and Verplank's Points, when Colonel Hamilton arrived at 
the latter place with orders to stop him. 

" Andre was arrested on the 23rd Sept., and a Board of General 
Officers were immediately summoned, by order of General Wash • 
ington, for his trial. The circumstances of the case were the sub- 
ject of much excitement in both the American and British aimiea, 



HUDSON RIVER, &C. 47 

ground, and elevated on a mass of rocks 598 feet in 
height, is the site of Fort Putnam. Silence and decay 
now mark the spot of this once formidable fortress. 
Its mouldering ruins, however, convey a pretty cor- 
rect idea of the impregnable barrier its ramparts once 
presented to the enemies of freedom. 

'The Military Academy, here established by Con- 
gress, was first organized under the direction of the 
late General Williams, in 1802. Of the number of 
applicants for admission to this institution, a pre- 
ference is usually given, first, to the sons of officers 
of the revolution, and, secondly, to the sons of 
deceased officers of the late war. None are admitted 
under the age of fourteen years, nor above twenty- 
two. The number of cadets is limited to 250, each 
of whom costs the Government 336 dollars annually; 
and the whole establishment is maintained at an an- 
nual expense of 115,000 dollars. In addition to the 

and created much sympathy in favour of Andre. After an inquiry 
of a number of days, the court determined that Andre ought to be 
considered as a spy from the en emy, and that, agreeably to the law 
and usage of nations, he ought to suffer death. This sentence was 
protested against, on the ground that Andre had been admitted into 
the American camp under the protection of a i^agjand at the imme- 
diate instance of Arnold, the commanding officer of the district, 
whose safe passport and return he had a right to demand. But the 
sentence was consented to be waved only on condition of deliver- 
ing Arnold into the custody of the American army ; which being 
refused by the British General, Andre was executed on the 2nd of 
October, 1780, at Tappan, or Orange Town, where his remains were 
deposited. When disinterred, for the purpose of being conveyed to 
England, it was discovered that the roots of a cypress had entwined 
their branches around the skull of the deceased. 

" The four surviving children of Gen. Arnold have become pen- 
sioners of Great Britain, and receive annuities of £100 sterling 
t-acb." 

E 2 



4i. HUDSON RiVfR &C. 

various sciences which are taught here, the cadets ar« 
instructed in all the practical minutiae of tactics ; com- 
prehending the lowest duties of the private soldier, 
as well as the highest duties of the officer. They are 
also required to encamp for six or eight weeks in a 
year; during which time they are instructed in the 
manner of pitching and striking tents, in the various 
infantry evolutions, and in all the details of the 
camp.* 

* Several of the buildings at West Point are elegant, 
and among the number may be ranked a new and 
spacious hotel. It has been erected in a style and 
on a scale which render it a great ornament to the 
grounds. It is substantially built of stone, painted 
yellow, and the lower story is surrounded on its sides 
with extensive piazzas, forming a delightful prome- 
nade. Its rear is upon the Hudson, and presents a 
fine view up the river through the Highlands. The 
front faces the parade ground and the ground used 
for the encampipent.* 

' Near the north- eastern extremity of the grounds, at 
the projecting point forming the abrupt bend of the 
river, stands a monument of white marble, consisting 
of a base and short column, on the former of which 
is simply inscribed on one side, " Kosciusko," it hav- 
ing been erected to the memory of that distinguished 
patriot, who resided here.' 

'On the bank of the Hudson, at the south-eastern 
extremity of the parade ground, and several yards be- 
neath, is a spot called Kosciusko's Garden, or Kos- 
cuisco's Retreat. It is the place to which the Polish 



49 



patriot was accustomed to retire to study, and which 
was cultivated by his own hands. Though now neg- 
lected, the marks of cultivation are perceptible in 
the regularity of the walks and the arrangement of 
the trees. A more delightful spot for recreation or 
repose cannot be imagined, nor one more suitable as 
a retreat from the cares of the great world, or a 
sanctuary for unfortunate patriotism or persecuted 
virtue.* 

' Passing the Highlands, the prospect changes into a 
very agreeable contrast. The bay of Newburgh with 
the village of the same name, and New- Windsor, and 
on the opposite shore the village of Fishkill, with its 
numerous adjacent manufactories and country seats, 
together with a view of the Hudson for many miles 
above, form a prospect which cannot fail to impart 
much interest. The village of New- Windsor stands 
on the margin of the river, seven miles from West 
Point. It is calcidated for a pleasant place of resi- 
dence, but in business it must yield to the rival vil- 
lage of 

' Newburgh. This is an incorporated village, si- 
tuated on the declivity of a hill on the west side of 
the Hudson, ten miles north from West Point, and 
eighty-four south from Albany. It contains about 
six hundred houses, and four thousand inhabitants. 
From its situation it commands an extensive inter- 
course and trade with the country on the west, and, 
by means of the Hudson river, with New York. This 
place was for some time the head-quarters of the 
American army during the revolutionary war; and 



60 HUDSON RIVER, &C. 

the *' stone house" in which General Washington 
quartered is still standing". 

' On the opposite side of the river (from Newhurgh) 
is Beacon Hill, one of the highest summits of the 
Fishkill Mountains, where parties of pleasure fre- 
quently resort, in the summer season, to witness an 
extent of prospect including a part of the territories of 
five different states. This hill is 1471 feet in height. 

* Half a mile south is the New Beacon, or Grand 
Sachem, 1685 feet above the level of the Hudson. 
They are called Beacon Hills, from the circumstance 
that beacons were erected on their summits during the 
revolutionary war. The continuation of this chain 
of mountains is lost in the Appalachian Range on the 
north-east, and extends south as far as the eye can 
reach. Diminished in distance is seen West Point, 
environed by mountains, apparently reposing on the 
surface of the Hudson, and bathing their rocky 
summits in the clouds.' 

We reached Newhurgh between twelve and one 
o'clock, from whence we procured a man with a pair 
of horses and one of their light waggons to convey us 
across the county about twenty-five miles, for which 
we agreed to pay him four dollars. After travelling 
over twelve miles of very bad road, through a barren, 
rocky, half cleared, uninteresting country, we arrived 
at Montgomery, a village with a few pretty good houses 
and stores, and, perhaps, about 800 inhabitants. We 
were detained some little time at this place, in borrow- 
ing another waggon, the one we started with having 
broken down by the way, and declined further service. 



ORANGE COUNTY. 51 

About a mile before making Montgomery, we passed 
the house and farm of a Mr. Ifaite, who emigrated 
from Bristol a few years ago : he has about ninety 
acres of land, contiguous to his house, for which he 
gave thirty dollars per acre, and two hundred more at 
some little distance : — is looked upon as a good and 
extensive farmer. 

As we drove along we observed many persons cut- 
ting and carrying their hay, in the midst of stumps 
and stones, and where an English farmer would have 
deemed it utterly impracticable to have performed 
either operation. They allow their hay to become 
much riper than we do, gathering it last of all, except 
their Indian corn crop, and it really appears poor dry 
and coarse stuff'. The cattle I saw were of a very in- 
ferior description ; the cows small — precise breed not 
easily determinable ; sheep, just of the order that 
range our commons ; and as to pigs, they were per- 
fectly hideous; their heads large, legs long, sides very 
flat, and bristled along the back like a wild boar. I 
have not seen one handsome individual of this race, 
except in Long Island. With some partial excep- 
tions, where the land was pretty much cleared of 
stumps and stones, it had a very uninviting aspect, so 
much so that had I not previously visited Long Island, 
and heard reports of other parts of the State, it would, 
I must confess, have given me but an indifferent 
opinion of farming in America. 

With various stoppages and hindrances it was late 
before we arrived at the end of our journey. My 
companion had been frequently in this county before. 



62 OBANGE COUNTY. 

and seemed to have a general acquaintance both with 
farmers and fiirming concerns. At length, at a short 
distance from the main road, and about two miles 
from Bloomingburgh, in Sullivan county, he ordered 

the man to stop at the door of a Mr. , and not 

having previously heard him make any allusion to re- 
lationship,! was a little surprised on the old gentleman 
approaching us, to find him address him by the familiar 
appellation of " uncle/' a mode of salutation, of youth 
to age, it appears, nearly as much in vogue, throughout 
this western, as that of "father" was in the eastern 
world. Had we been a few minutes later, we should 
have found the whole household in bed, the major 
part, I believe, had been there some time, and the 
arrival of a couple of guests one of the last things 
thought of; but there was no talk about " bringing 
night with us'' — '' ivho'd have thought of any body 
coming now/' — " hardly know ivhere to put your horses," 
&c. &c ; but those who were up welcomed us with cor- 
diality ; and those who had retired were quickly sum- 
moned, and evinced any thing rather than dissatisfac- 
tion atsuch an untimely interruption of their slumbers; 
all set about to entertain us in the best way the cir- 
cumstances of the case permitted : '' Uncle" was very 
diffuse on politics and religion, (standing and con- 
secutive topics I find, go where you will,) and we had 
pretty much settled some abstruse points in both ere 
we had been half an hour in the house. Aunt and 
cousins were all alive for news, and plied us with in- 
terrogatories at an unmerciful rate, which, however, 
liad I known the destiny that awaited me, I wotdd 



ORANGE COUNTY. 53 

have continued most patiently resijonding to, until 
the night had so far waned, as to have enabled me to 
decline, with a perfect good grace, the superfluous 
accommodation of a bed. " What, the bugs again ?" 
— Bear with me, reader, though I can hardly bear 
with myself, — 'tis even so. It is now three o'clock on 

the morning of the \2th of August, and 

for the last two hours, unable any longer to endure 
the mside of the house, I have been making trial of 
the out, and, in trans-Atlantic phraseology, have 
located myself in an adjoining shed, after disturbing 
half the family, and I know not what else, in effecting 
my escape, but which, after all, by the bye, is but a 
sorry sort of retreat^ since, though I have cleared the 
bugs, I have been pounced upon by a fine corps of 
musquetoes, — light infantry to the others to be sure, 
but almost ' making up in numbers what they want in 
weight,' and thirsting for my blood with alike avidity : 
either are bad enough, but united they oppose one of 
the most formidable barriers to a peaceable existence 
in the country I have yet met with ; and it is the 
more trying to be subject to the annoyance just at 
that season of the year when the heat of the weather 
renders you less able to bear it. An American may 
smile at these remarks, but, as I have said, an English- 
man will not, — upo7i trial. — A pig has just risen from 
his berth and paid me a visit — the most agreeable 
living thing I have seen for hours, — and, thanks, the 
morning dawns. 

Deteimining, after what I had seen of the county 
on the preceding day, and evidenced of its produc- 



64 ORANGE COUNTY. 

tions during the past night, not to prolong my stay in 
it, betimes this morning, partly on horseback, and 
partly on foot, I commenced a little further survey ; 
availing myself wherever, and so far as I could, of the 
experience of practical residents, but without tending 
much to remove the unfavourable impressions pre- 
viously recorded. That portions of rich and valuable 
land are to be found in some parts, I readily admit ; 
but the general character of it is rocky and rugged in 
the extreme. I do not believe that a farm of two 
hundred acres could be any where selected in the 
county, of which the majority could be called ivell 
cleared, good land. Perhaps the best is to be found 
the neighbourhood of Goshen, where a great weight of 
butter is made and sent to New York market, at which 
it is in high repute. There is also some quantity of 
hemp grown in the county. 

Farms, with a fair house and outbuildings, are 
to be purchased for about thirty dollars per acre ; 
price, of course, varying a little with circumstances. 
Articles of produce much as in Long Island, though 
the yield is generally less, and prices lower, and 
little, if any, fruit, &c. is cultivated for the New 
York market. Plaster is much used as a manure, 
worth at Newburgh seven dollars a ton ; considered 
a sufficient quantity for twelve acres. Cider is chiefly 
made for private use. The county is well supplied 
with water, and there is abundance of iron ore, mar- 
ble, lime, sand-stone, &c. ; but for an English farmer 
I should consider it any thing but desirable. 

Soon after four o'clock, p. vi, I made for the high 



ORANGE COUNTY Newbur^k. 56 

road, and got into the Western Mall, a ponderous, 
uncouth vehicle, drawn by four good horses, carry- 
ins^ nine inside, and one on the seat, or rail, with the 
driver — a gentleman in his shirt sleeves, and in good 
keeping with the whole concern. I may here notice a 
peculiarity in the tactics of American coachmanship, 
which not unfrequently brings English Jehu's in con- 
tact with the wheels of their carriages, namely, that 
of turning out upon the right instead of the left side ; 
one would verily think by way of opposition, as all 
to whom I have noticed the custom admit its impro- 
priety — know not how it has obtained, but that so 
it is, and they are compelled to observe it. 

Our progress along a rugged, and, in some parts, 
dangerous road, was from three to six miles an hour, 
the dust, at times, nearly choking us : we managed, 
however, to reach Newburgh soon after nine in the 
evening. Here it had been my intention to have 
taken the night boat to Albany, which passed by from 
New York about an hour afterwards ; but the day 
having been very warm, my exertion not trifling, and 
a night of campaigning into the bargain, after receiv- 
ing very positive assurances at the most respectable 
hotel in the place (the Mansion House, kept by 
Evan Davis) that I should be lodged secure from 
all invasion, I determined upon quartering here 
until morning ; and shortly requested an introduc- 
tion to my apartment, which I found as appa- 
rently neat and clean as I could have desired ; the 
bed and all the furniture in it excellent and nearly 
new. Well, thought I, this is some improvement 



6^ AT NF.WBURGri, 

upon Bloomingburgh — no vermin here — sure of a 
charming night now, at all events — and with such 
like agreeable reflections and anticipations consigned 
myself to bed ; but, alas ! alas ! *' man is born to 
trouble ;'' whoso doubteth it, let him travel in a land 
of bugs and musquetoes. " Kind nature's sweet re- 
storer, balmy sleep," had not commenced her visit ere 
my most persecuting assailants were again at me; 
— bugs I mean ; and I was soon up and in a state of 
open warfare, killing and slaying in all directions. 
Finding myself thus deceived, and suffering se- 
verely from injuries received, I sallied forth, and was 
soon in close and no very peaceful contact with 
both landlord and waiter, who, until they went and 
examined for themselves, would not believe that such 
an appearance as I presented could have proceeded 
from such a cause, or even that the wretched vermin 
could have found access to the apartment into which 
they very politely told me (but I was in no mood to 
be complimented) that they never put any but the 
most respectable of their company. To dispute the 
point, however, against the joint evidence of our 
senses, was out of the question, and after expressing 
the utmost concern at the occurrence, and lamenting, 
in consequence of guests received by the steam-boats, 
in which the pest, or pestilence, if you will, abounds, 
the great difficulty they had in keeping, or, in fact, 
knowing, when they were free from it, I could only 
make the best of my bad bargain, and retiring into a 
drawing-room, threw myself upon a sofa, and, over- 



\ND DEPARTURE FOR ALBANY. 57 

powered with fatigue and vexation, dropped, perforce, 
to sleep. 

August l^th. — A most fine morning', and having 
taken a dip in the beautiful Hudson, with other re- 
freshing operations, I feel my condition somewhat 
improved, though truly in a poor plight, and half 
ashamed to walk abroad, even in this land of freedom, 
which, by the bye, at the rate I am proceeding, will 
prove any thing else to me. I scarcely think to 
venture into a bed again at any public establishment 
in the country : the consequences are too serious 
for any patient endurance, and if this be a fair spe- 
cimen of American entertainment of travellers, 
though already I can bear ample testimony to good 
fare and hospitality, I, for one, must be content to 
say, *' England, with all thy faults, I love thee still." 

In consequence of the morning boat, which ought 
to have arrived here at twelve o'clock, having broken 
a part of her machinery, and come to a stand a few 
miles below, I was detained until near five in the 
afternoon, when the " Chief Justice Marshall" made 
its appearance, a very fine boat, though smaller than 
the Albany, from which, in addition to her own, she 
had received about 250 passengers, so that we were 
pretty thick upon the ground. It was a splendid 
moonlight evening, and the scenery which lined the 
banks of the river, though less grand than that 
which we passed through on the previous day, pos- 
sessed almost equal claims to admiration ; the towns 
and villages on either side we could discern but in- 
distinctly, — shall probably have an opportunity of 



•18 ALBANY. 

noticing them on my return, and therefore only ob- 
serve that, after passing Milton, Poughkeepsie, Hyde- 
park Landing, Catskill, the city of Hudson, &c. we 
reached Albany, at one o'clock this morning the 

14^A of August but being unable to get 

my luggage from the boat before daylight, (an arrange- 
ment which the frequent thefts committed at all the 
landing-places of these vessels has rendered necessary) 
I did not quit it until after four o'clock ; during which 
interval I was visited again and again by the agents of 
the two lines of western stages, each eloquent upon 
the decided superiority of travelling by that for which 
he was respectively interested. They are termed 
the *' Old" (which until lately was the only line) and 
'* Pioneer" line. As a stranger, I at length decided 
upon the former, and engaged a place to Utica, in 
Oneida county, ninety-four miles W. N. W. of Albany, 
to start at nine o'clock ; afterwards getting into the 
bar of an indifferent inn, the only one I saw open, 1 
dozed for an hour or so on three most uneasy wooden 
chairs, when, recollecting the brief interval allowed 
me for observation, — not that I forsook my couch with 
any extraordinary reluctance, — I rose and proceeded 
to reconnoitre the city ; with which, as the capital of 
tlie state, I cannot but express myself rather disap- 
pointed. *It is situated on the west side of the Hud- 
son river, and near the head of tide water. It was 
settled in 1612 ; and next to Jamestoivn in Virginia, is 
the oldest settlement in the United States. In 1614, 
a small fort and trading house were built by the Dutch 
on an island half a mile below the site of the present 



ALBANY. 59 

city ; and soon afterwards, Fort Orange,where the city 
now stands. The place was first called Aurania ; 
then Beverwyck,t\\\ 1625 ; then Fort Orange, till 1647; 
and WilUamstadt, till 1664. For a long time after its 
foundation it was inclosed with palisadoes or pickets, 
as a defence against the Indians, who were then 
numerous and powerful in its vicinity. Its charter 
was granted in the year 1686, and embraced an area 
of 7160 acres. A great proportion of its soil is sandy 
and unproductive, and under no system of useful cul- 
tivation.' 

Upon my going out soon after six o'clock, I 
found a great part of the stores open, and nearly as 
much appearance of business as there would have 
been at mid-day ; — generally speaking, commercial 
men in America (by which I include a great majority) 
commence the day much earlier than the same class 
in England, and whereas a London or Liverpool 
merchant will reach his office by ten or eleven, those 
of New York will be found at their posts soon after, 
and very often before, eight o'clock. The same 
want of uniformity and neatness which I had no- 
ticed at New York, was here still more conspicuous. 
There are many good buildings in different parts 
of the town, but nothing like a good street from 
beginning to end, and some of them are very badly 
paved, and not wholly free from appearances of 
vegetation ; the two principal. Market-street and 
Pearl-street, run parallel with the river, and State- 
street nearly E. and W. The public buildings most 

worthy of notice, are the Capitol and the State-hall. 
F 2 



60 ALBANY. 

* The Capitol, which contains the legislative halls, the 
common council chamber of the corporation, the su- 
preme and chancery court rooms of the state, the 
county clerk's office, the state library, and other apail- 
ments for business, stands at the head of State- 
street, on an elevation of 130 feet above the level of 
the river. It is a substantial stone edifice, erected at an 
expense of 120,000 dollars ; of which sum 34,000 was 
paid by the corporation of the city. It is 115 feet in 
length, 90 feet in breadth, and 50 feet in height, con- 
sisting of two stories, and a basement of ten feet. 
The east front is adorned with a portico of the Ionic 
order. In the senate and assembly chambers, and 
in tlwj room used for holding the court of chancery, 
are full-length portraits of Washington, of the various 
executives who have administered the government of 
the state, and of Abraham Van Vechten, Esq., an 
eminent counsellor at law, residing in Albany. There 
is also in the senate chamber a good bust of Dr. 
Franklin. 

' The State Hall, for the offices of the Secretary 
of the State, Comptroller, Treasurer, Surveyor-Gene- 
ral, Attorney-General, and Clerk of the Supreme 
Court, is situated on the south side of State-street, 
nearly equidistant from the Capitol and the Albany, 
Farmers' and Mechanics' Banks; both of which stand 
at the foot of State-street, and are elegant, white mar- 
ble edifices. There are in this city four Banks, and 
fourteen houses for public worship. Also a large 
brick building for a Lancasterian School, a Theatre in 
South Pearl-street, an Athenseum, and an Arsenal in 



ALBANY. fil 

North Market-street. The Museum is in South Mar- 
ket-street, and is one of the best in the country. 
North of the Capitol, stands the Academy, the most 
elegantly constructed building in the city. It cost 
about 92,000 dollars, exclusive of the lot on which 
it is erected, and some donations. It is built of free- 
stone, three stories in height, and ninety feet in front. 
It is one of the most flourishing institutions in the 
state; has five teachers and about one hundred and 
forty students.' The principal Hotels are the Ame- 
rican Hotel, in State-street, a large and elegant esta- 
blishment; the Mansion House, and City Hotel, in 
north Market-street; the State-street House in State- 
street, which, with others, no doubt, present every re- 
quisite comfort and convenience. 

In point of trade, wealth, and resources, Albany is 
considered to rank next to New York. The Erie and 
Champlain Canals, those great works of the day, 
which I shall take an opportunity of noticing more 
particularly, unite at Watervliet, eight miles and a 
half north of the city, and flow into it in one channel; 
so that the produce of the north and the west, and an 
immense amount of merchandise from New York, 
&c. pass through it. No census has been taken 
since 1820, though one is now in progress; — its present 
population may be about 20,000, but I speak without 
data. There are a number of stages leaving daily, 
in different directions, and extras, or hired convey- 
ances, to be had in abundance. 

I much regretted that I had not an opportunity of 
visiting two objects of interest in the neighbourhood. 



62 FARM, NEAR ALBANY, 

namely, the farm of J. Buell, Esq., and the Shaker 
Settlement, of which T extract the following notices: — 
' The highly cultivated farm of J. Buell, Esq., is 
about two miles west of Albany on the Cherry Valley 
turnpike. This farm, consisting of eighty acres, has 
been wholly reclaimed from commons since 1818, and 
is now under profitable cultivation. Mr. Buell pos- 
sessed the first requisite for improvement — a con- 
sciousness of the ivant of knowledge in his new employ- 
ment. He diligently sought for this knowledge in the 
practice of the best farmers, and in the study of the 
sciences upon which agriculture is based ; directing, 
and superintending himself the labours of his farm. 
His improvements consist in selecting the best imple- 
ments adapted to his soil — in substituting fallow 
crops for naked fallows — in extensively and success- 
fully cultivating the Swedish and common turnip, as 
a second crop, after clover and small grains — in in- 
troducing new and valuable grasses — in the cultiva- 
tion of live fences, which he has growing of the white 
European thorn, of the native thorn of our woods, and 
of the three-thorned or honey locust — and in the eco- 
nomy and application of ordinary, and the use of new 
manures. His object has been to grow only good crops, 
and these at the least expense. In 1827 he sold from 
sixty-four acres in tillage and grass, under farm cul- 
ture, produce to the amount of more than 1500 
dollars, exclusive of the consumption of a large family. 
His kitchen and flower gardens, abounding in the 
finest native and foreign fruits, ornamental trees, 
shrubs, and flowers, will also be visited with interest.* 



SETTLEMENT OF THE SHAKERS. 63 

' The Shaker Settlement at Niskayuna is eight miles 
north-west of Albany. The Shakers are the followers 
of Ann Lee, called by them Mother Ann, a religious 
enthusiast, who was born in England some time ante- 
cedent to the revolutionary war, and while yet in her 
youth suffered much tribulation and deep exercises 
of spirit, in her conversion from the sins of this world 
to a state of greater perfection. She endured severe 
trials and much persecution, according to her own 
account, from her countrymen ; but was afterwards 
favoured with visions and an exhibition of miracles 
in her favour. Although in early life herself the wife 
of a poor blacksmith, the principal tenet of her creed 
is absolute and entire celibacy, which is defended on 
various spiritual grounds, and fully set forth in a 
work recently published by the society. In conse- 
quence of the persecutions experienced by Mother 
Ann, in England, she came to this country, and estab- 
lished a small society, which has been followed by the 
establishment of others, of which this is one. Her 
followers regard her memory with pious veneration, 
and consider themselves as the only people in pos- 
session of the true light. Some of the oldest and 
most perfect members, it is said, pretend to " speak 
with tongues," heal diseases by the touch, &c. The 
marriage conti'act is dissolved on joining the society ; 
their association is a perfect community of goods, all 
private property being thrown into the common stock, 
and they profess to banish the love of ambition, 
wealth, and luxury from their gloomy territories. 

'They own at this place 2000 acres of excellent land. 



64 SETTLEMENT OF THE SHAKERS, 

laid out and kept in the order, neatness, and cleanli- 
ness, which always distinguish their sect. This is di- 
vided into four farms, or families, as they are called, 
occupied by about seventy-five persons each, of both 
sexes and of all ages. They cultivate garden stuffs, 
seeds, &c. for sale, as well as every thing necessary for 
their own support, and they manufacture various use- 
ful and ornamental articles. These, as well as the 
surplus produce of the farm, are sold, and the avails 
deposited in one of the Albany banks until required. 
The division of labour which they carry into practice, 
every occupation being entrusted to separate members, 
and their economical habits, render their gains very 
considerable. The men work as fanners, carpenters, 
shoemakers, tailors, &c. ; the women at weaving, spin, 
ning, washing, cooking, and in the duties of the farm; 
making and mending clothes, — the occupations of 
each sex being performed in separate buildings. They 
also eat separately, and neither of them will sit down 
to a meal with what they call the " world's people." 
The dress of the men is drab, perfectly plain ; that of 
the women, grey, with white caps, all made as plain 
and easy as possible. They all have a peculiar walk, 
but especially the females, in consequence of their 
mode of worship, from which they derive the name of 
Shakers, a strange and disagreeable mode of dancing, 
accompanied with a monotonous song. The young 
members of the community are regularly taught the 
steps of this dance by the older ones before they are 
permitted to join in public worship. It is usual before 
the admission of a member to all the privileges of the 



AND DEPARTURE FOR UTICA. C5 

society, to impose a noviciate of three months, when, 
if he so desires, he may leave them ; if not, he is re- 
gularly admitted a member, and throws his property 
into the common stock. 

* Notwithstanding the severity of their discipline as 
to celibacy, it is said the harmony of their society was 
lately much disturbed in consequence of a " love 
affair." A young man and woman, both belonging to 
the society, in despite of the doctrines of their leader, 
fell from their estate of " single blessedness," and 
yielded to a worldly attachment. This heresy, as 
might be expected, produced considerable commotion. 
The members wrestled with the tempter, and the 
elders prayed for and with the victims to the dreaded 
enemy of the sect ; but all to no purpose. They left 
the society and were married. It is creditable, how- 
ever, to the members, that after finding their efforts to 
prevent this result unavailing, they sent the happy 
pair sufficient furniture for comfortable house-keeping, 
assigning as a reason, that they had laboured for the 
society, and that it was no more than justice to re- 
ward them.' 

Before nine o'clock, with seven persons, besides 
myself, in our vehicle, I was again in motion for 
Utica. The morning was very fine and warm, but the 
dust terrible. The first place we arrived at was the 
city of Schenectady, fifteen miles from Albany ; the 
road as bad and the country as uninteresting as I have 
often travelled over, and there appears but very little 
in the town itself to attract the notice of a stranger. 
It is situated on the Mohawk river, over which there 



(t6 SCHENECTADY. 

is a bridge 330 yards in length, built of wood and 
roofed over. The Erie Canal also passes through it, 
but in consequence of the number of locks between 
and Albany, no paclcet-boats run farther than Schenec- 
tady, and the intervening distance must therefore be 
passed by the stages. ' By the present arrangement, 
boats leave Schenectady every morning and evening, 
reaching Utica in twenty-four hours, and Buffalo, at 
the foot of Lake Erie, in four days. The price of con- 
veyance in the packet-boats is three cents per mile, 
meals extra.'* Spafford says that the present city *is 
built on the site of a large Indian town, anciently 
called Con-migh-harie-(/ngh-harie, literally a-great-mul- 
titude-collected-together. It was built by a band of the 
Mohocks, or Mohawks, and could at one time send 
800 warriors to the field. At a very early period of 
our historical knowledge of this country, the Indian 
settlement at this town was abandoned, (for reasons 
never understood by the white people,) and those 
Indians settled among their red brethren in the west. 
A long time before the American revolution they had 
entirely abandoned it.' In 1819 it suffered severely by 
fire, 170 buildings being destroyed, and a large amount 
of other property. It may now contain 4000 inhabi- 
tants ; has a college of some celebrity, called Union 
College, at which about 200 students are educated an- 
nually ; there is also a Lancasterian and other schools, 

* These boats are exclvisively for the convej-ance of passengers, 
comfortably and conveniently fitted up, and towed by two or three 
horses. They are generally preferred to the stages, — are no doubt 
much easier — but give me land, however bad, or if it must be water 
—the ocean — no '* dull canal with locks and chains," &.c. 



&C., AND LITTLE FALLS. 67 

three or four churches, or meeting-houses, (for the body 
of professors assembling, and not the building, is 
usually understood by the term church here,) a bank, 
one excellent hotel near the canal, and others else- 
where, besides tanneries, stores, &c. Sixteen miles 
further is Amsterdam, a very poor place, containing 
forty or fifty houses, where we dined indifferently. 
Passing on through Caughnawaga, Fort Plain, East 
Canada Creek, &c. there is little to interest the travel- 
ler until arriving at Little Falls in Herkimer county, 
when the scene becomes pleasingly romantic. 'The 
place takes its name from a cataract in the vicinity, 
which in size is much inferior to the celebrated 
Cahoes, and has, therefore, been denominated the 
Little Falls of the Mohawk. A continuation of the 
chain of Catsbergs crosses the river at this place, and 
forms a rough bed for the waters of the cataract, 
which pour over the rocky fragments in the wildest 
confusion. Approaching from the south-east, a lofty 
ridge of mountains, frowning in grandeur on either 
side, conceals the course of the river and the falls, 
whose vicinity is announced only by the distant din 
and foam of its waters. For a considerable distance, 
a narrow pass only is allowed for a road, with im- 
mense natural battlements of rock on either side, 
affording a most sublime and interesting spectacle. 
About half a mile from the village the road turns 
suddenly to the left, presenting a view of the falls 
tumbling with irresistible violence over a gradual rocky 
descent of about eighty rods. At the termination 
of the ascent is situated the village, containing about 



68 XITTLE FALLS, kc, 

one hundred houses and eight hundred inhabitants. 
A little cluster of buildings, rising between the rush- 
ing waters of the Mohawk on the one hand, and the 
rugged cliffs and eminences on the other; the smooth 
current of the stream above gently gliding to the 
tumultuous scene below, and beyond the distant vale 
of the Mohawk, diversified with fields, orchards, mea- 
dows, and farm-houses, — all contribute to set off the 
romantic appearance for which this place is so justly 
celebrated. This village derives most of its impor- 
tance from the facilities for trade and commerce 
aflforded by means of the Mohawk river and the Erie 
canal. Boats were formerly transported around the 
falls by means of a canal on the north side of the 
river. This old canal contains eight locks, and is 
now^ connected with the Erie canal on the south side 
of the river by means of an aqueduct 184 feet in 
length. The descent of the Erie canal here, in the 
distance of one mile, is forty feet, which is passed by 
five locks.' 

The road from this place continues to pursue the 
course of the river, and overlooks a rich alluvial vale 
known by the name of the Herkimer mid German 
Flats, the latter on the opposite side of the Mohawk. 
Near the middle of these flats is situated the village 
of Herkimer, the capital of Herkimer county. — Let 
me liere remark that the term village, in America, 
must be understood as synonymous with town in Eng- 
land, and loivn or township as parish ; as this is the 
way they are uniformly applied, the Americans nei- 
ther having nor needing any thing answering to our 



• TO UTICA. 69 

parish; an institution which no English farmer in 
the present day, and for days to come, will need de- 
fining-. — Herkimer, like most on this day's route, is an 
insignificant place, consisting chiefly of two streets 
and contains about eight hundred inhabitants. 

The remainder of the way to Utica, we travelled 
too late in the evening to discern any thing of the 
face of the country ; it was, however, less hilly, and, 
from what I could learn, rather loosely cultivated and 
uninteresting. There is some excellent land in the 
county of Herkimer, and much of a very inferior 
description; the best is to be found in the southern 
part, along the banks of the Mohawk, where, as in 
Montgomery county, which preceded it, good farms, 
with buildings and improvements, are to be purchased 
at from 25 to 40 dollars per acre. Clover seed is here 
cultivated to a considerable extent, and, it is said, at 
a good profit to the grower. The northern part of 
the county is very mountainous, cold, and barren, 
with immense forests of various kinds of timber, every 
way ineligible for agriculture. — We reached Uiica 
about twelve o^clock in the evening, having travelled 
during the day, though at grievous bodily expense, 
at the rate of six miles an hour, including stoppages ; 
a feat which I will venture to say would never have 
been performed by an English coachman. The road, 
nearly the whole of the way, was very indifferent — 
rocky, and uneven, and, for the most part, unguarded. 
We had jolting enough not only to have broken our 
vehicle, but almost to have dislocated every bone in 
ouf bodies : those, however, who are unused to Mac- 



70 AT UTICA Remarks by the ivay. 

adamized smoothness think nothing of it, and the 
only emotion excited by the head being banged 
against the top of the coach, or a violent concussion 
with your opposite neighbour, (an oft-repeated occur- 
rence in the course of the day,) was a smile, or a 
hearty laugh, in proportion to the extent and mag- 
nitude of the jolt, — a proof, amongst the many, what 
inconveniences and hardships may be tolerated, — 
borne even with equanimity, when we have no ability 
or idea of redressing them. 

I noticed a peculiarity in the toll-gates as we passed 
along, (which articles are much less frequent than in 
England,) namely, their drawing up in portcullis 
fashion, instead of opening as ours do; a custom 
in eastern countries referred to by that beautiful and 
sublime passage in the Psalms, '' Lift up your heads, 
O ye gates !" &c. 

Another and a very convenient dissimilarity relates 
to the coachman, who does not expect the slightest 
fee or remuneration. There is no eternal opening of 
the door, and " Please, Sir, I stop here ;'' — " Please, 
Sir, I don't go any further;" — ''Please, Sir, remem- 
ber the coachman," which is not always quite so 
'pleasing as they would kindly desire it to be. Here, 
the fare paid, generally without opposition, about 
four cents a mile, you have done with all demands 
relative to the coach. At the end of every stage the 
man retires with his horses, which he has to attend 
upon himself, though this is a much less onerous 
duty than in England, brushes, curry combs, &c. 
being but little in request. I do not, in any instance. 



AT utiCA -Remarks by the way. 71 

recollect seeing him at all assisted even in taking out 
or putting in. Pretty soon after he has cleared him= 
self away, the driver, who is next to proceed, appears 
with his team, and though this changing is not quite 
so expeditious an affair as you may sometimes wit- 
ness when running opposition with us — I think I 
have known it performed in twenty seconds — you are 
off again in as little time as under the circumstances 
you would suppose possible. 

There is a very striking difference, too, perceptible 
at the inns : — look for no bowing landlord or obse- 
quious waiter at the door to welcome your arrival ; 
you may alight or not, as you please, and in some 
instances be served as if yo2i, and not they, were the 
party obliged. Neither expect to find any snug par- 
lour or Travellers, or I suppose I must now say, Co7n- 
7iiercial Room, to retire to ; the bar seems the only in- 
habited apartment about the house, and there, upon 
arrival, the company immediately proceed : within it are 
always to be met with conveniences for washing — the 
very first operation — and a comb and a brush attached 
together by a string, suspended most likely from the 
ceiling, pro bono publico, and used sans ceremonie by 
by all comers and goers, though / took the liberty of 
declining the accommodation. You would suppose 
that all the news and affairs of the commonwealth, 
(as they most likely have) had gained access to this 
place, or, at any rate, you feel perfectly assured of 
being in a land where that valuable engine, the press, 
suffers not the slightest embarrassment : papers, daily, 

and weekly, local, and from different parts of the 
g2 



72 AT UTICA Tlemarks by the way. 

Union, are strewed about in ' charming profusion/-— 
the merits of all persons and all things are discussed 
by all present, — the walls are covered with advertise- 
ments of elections — fares of stages and steam-boats, 
when and where running — auctions — sales of land — 
sales of stock — sales of merchandise — sales of every 
thing that can be sold — quack medicines without end 
— the most prominent ' specifics for dyspepsia/ — but 
take exempli gratia the heads of half a dozen matters 
which I saw succeeding each other : — " Real estate for 
sale, at a low price and easy terms to the purchaser." 
— " Gotham. — Chronicles of the city of Gotham, from 
the papers of a retired common council-man ; by the 
author of John Bull, in America ; just received and 
for sale by E. Peck and Co." — " Lectures on Univer* 
salism, by Joel Parker, pastor of the third Presbyterian 
Church, Rochester." — " Journal of Health, price 
twenty-five dollars per annum" — " Canal transporta- 
tion." — " Capital prize of 20,000 dollars ! Fortune's 
home." — " I want o. first-rate miller, and am willing to 
pay a first-rate price, for this fall. G. G. Kingman," 
— " Stage fare reduced ! ! ! ! — Pioneer stages from 
Rochester and Utica, four dollars per seat and under ; 
and to intermediate places in proportion. Caution to 
the Public. — A variety of methods having been resorted 
to in order to impress the public mind with the belief 
that the Pioneer stages are discontinued, the public 
are respectfully informed that the proprietors of the 
said line are running two daily lines of stages between 
Rochester, Canandaigua, and Utica, and one daily 
line from Utica to Albany, (sabbaths excepted ;) and 



AT LT[CA Remarks by the way. 73 

that in point of comfort, speed, and low rates of fare, 
this line shall not be surpassed : office, &c. — R. Hunt, 
agent." — " Broken Banks ! Bills of the Bank of Co- 
lumbia, Middle District, and Washington and Warren, 
purchased by the subscriber. C. W. Dundas, Clinton 
House." — " Wadsworth's cheese." — " New shad." — 
"Antibilous Pills." — " Cash for corn and rye." — 
" Cash for wheat." — " More new goods at the auction 
store. No. 1, Buffalo-street, near the market." — " Lake 
Ontario steam-boat." — ** Ontario female seminary." — 
" Stray horse. — Came into the stable of the subscriber, 
on the 19th instant, a light bay horse, with white hind 
legs, and one white fore foot, supposed to be five or 
six years old — the owner is requested to identify his 
property, pay the charges, and take him away — Luman 
Ashley." — A trunk gone." — " American independence 
for ever," — " Debilitated :" —but, perhaps, the fore- 
going may suffice. 

I could notice a few other customs, peculiarities, 
&c., but scarcely thinking this day's travel furnishes 
a fair specimen, they may rest for future opportunity 
and confirmation. 

I was set down in Utica, at Bagg^s Tavern, a com- 
modious Inn located at the corner of Main and 
Genesee-streets, and finding that the western stage, 
passing through New Hartford, where I was designing 
to tarry a week with a few ex-English friends, who had 
settled in the neighbourhood, did not leave till five 
in the morning, though pressed to make trial of a bed — 
a luxury I had not enjoyed since quitting Newburgh — 
I preferred rolling myself up in my cloak, on the floor 



74 FRQM UTICA TO NEW HARTFORD. 

where I was, and calling in the aid of my carpet bag 
for a pillow, after the flitigues of the day, thought but 
little of the lowliness of my resting-place, secure, at 
least, from evils I had endured in more exalted ones, 
and slept away till near the time of starting. 

August \6tk. — This morning, before five o'clock, 
our concern was all in readiness, and the driver 
most impatient for the appearance of my yesterday's 
companions, who, jaded like myself, seemed to 
prefer the carriage whereon they were reposing to 
the one which they were now summoned to enter, 
* where hope of present slumber flies.* Jolt, jolt, 
jolt, however, we were soon at it again ; the morning 
was cheeringly fine, and the anticipated pleasure of 
meeting friends I had not seen for years, with the no- 
velty of all around me, diverted my thoughts from what 
might not, otherwise, have furnished them with very 
agreeable occupation ; and the distance to New Hart- 
ford being little more than four miles, I was happily 
at the end of my journey ere I had time to become sen- 
sitive to injuries, grievous enough by repetition. 

Alighting at the first public establishment the place 
afforded, after freeing myself from no trifling accu- 
mulation of dust and dirt, and partaking of an ex- 
cellent breakfast, I set out, with some previous direc- 
tion, to discover the retreat of my friends, which I 
found pleasantly situated, about two miles from the 
village, ' fast by a sheltering wood,* with a good 
road, as roads go here, passing by it, and in the midst 
of rich and well cultivated lands. 

The wonted excitement of meeting subsided, we, of 



NEW HARTFORD, &C. 76 

course, fell into chat of persons, and things, and 
many by- gone scenes of the ' Old Country.' which 
time or distance had yet failed to obliterate, and 
passed the day, much after the fashion of days of like 
character, gratified with each other's society, and mu- 
tually pained, pleased, or surprised, at our respective 
communications and developments. 

Some very refreshing rain fell during the afternoon, 
but scarcely more than enough to lay the dust ; the 
sun broke out again in the evening, and the day closed 
as fine as it commenced. 

August \6th. — I have arisen this morning from the 
first bed I have passed an hour in since leaving Brook- 
lyn, and it is needless to add, after a night of most 
welcome and refreshing repose. 

After breakfast I rode with one of the family to 
Whiteshorough, a village about four miles distant, 
situated on the Sadaquada, or Sauquait Creek, and 
passed by the Erie canal, with which the main, and I 
may say the only, street runs parallel. It contains but 
few good houses, though many are to be observed in the 
neighbourhood. It is said that the first /mmec? house, 
erected in the county of Oneida, still in existence, was 
at this place. — We returned by way of the York 
Mills, considered the most extensive cotton manufac- 
tories in the State of New York ; and passed, besides, 
several considerable manufacturing establishments of 
different kinds, all indicating the rapid advances which 
trade and population are making in these parts. 

On subsequent days I visited other places and parts 
of the country, committing memoranda and informa- 



76 NEW HARTFORD Farming Journal. 

tion to my Farming Journal from which I extract the 
following : — 

* The value and quality of land, as may be imagined, 
varies very much in different parts of this county. 
The best quality of soil is perhaps to be met with in 
the neighbourhood of Utica, which thriving and in- 
creasing town will soon furnish a market for a large 
amount of produce raised around it. Farms in the 
adjacent townships, say, of New Hartford, Clinton, 
Paris, Whitesborough, and Westmoreland, are worth 
from 25 to 50 dollars per acre, dependent upon cir- 
cumstances before alluded to. Wood land is fully as 
valuable as cleared. Much of the northern and 
western part of the county is unsettled, and about the 
Oneida Lake wild land is selling from 5 to 10 dollars 
per acre, the distance probably 25 or 30 miles from 
Utica, and 10 from the canal. The soil is for the 
most part of a strong loam, well calculated for grazing, 
and fully as productive in grass as grain, though good 
crops of all descriptions of the latter are raised. The 
best farms that can be purchased, and this remark 
may apply generally, I should think the most elegible, 
— particularly for an Englishman. But little land 
is rented, hardly enough to establish a rate of rental 
— 1 think, however, I shall not much err if I state it 
at from 1 to 1| dollars per acre: when taken in this 
way it is almost invariably by the year, though there 
are instances of farms being held on lease. 

The share, or halving system, as it is called, is not 
very extensively practiced. The terms of this contract 
are : — the tenant finding half the seed and the 



NEW HARTFORD Farming Journal. 77 

teams, doing the whole of the work, and dividing the 
produce with the landlord. If the farm be a good one, 
the landlord frequently finds teams and milch cows, 
which are valued to the tenant on coming on, and 
upon which value he pays about equal to 7| per cent, 
per annum during the time he uses them. 
( The proportion which arable bears to grazing land, 
in this part of the county, is about one-third. 

The usual produce of wheat may be given at from 
12 to 35 bushels per acre; of barley from 20 to 40 ; 
of oats from 15 to 60; Indian corn from 15 to 50; 
potatoes from 150 to 300 bushels; hay from 20 to 60 
cwt. The great variation in cjuantity much dependent 
upon management. Hops and apples are very un- 
certain ; turnips do not succeed well. The present, 
and which are about the average prices, are, say of 
wheat, 1 dollar per 60 lbs. Barley, 45 cents per 
48 lbs. Oats, 25 cents. Indian corn, 66 cents per 
58 lbs. Potatoes, 20 cents per bushel. Hay, 5 dol- 
lars per ton. Hops, 12| cents per lb. Cyder sells at 
from 1 to 3 dollars per barrel, (30 gallons, wine mea, 
sure.) No clover seed is gathered, but a good deal of 
timothy grass seed, w^hich brings from 1 to 2 dollars 
per bushel. Flour is worth about 5 dollars per barrel, 
of 196 lbs. 

The value of horses is much as in Long Island ; as 
also that of cows and sheep. For stall-fed cattle, 5 
cents per lb. may be obtained. Fat lambs are worth 
1 dollar. Store cattle, say two-year old steers, sell 
from 10 to 13 dollars ; three-year old, from 20 to 25 
dollars per head. Store pigs, 4 cents per lb. alive. 



78 NEW HARTFORD Farming Journal. 

The native cattle are generally raised, and are con- 
sidered full as well adapted to the country as the im- 
ported ones ; the cows are small, but good milkers ; 
the oxen grow large, weighing sometimes 1500 lbs. 
each. It is quite customary to sell fat stock by its 
weight when alive. 

The horses, most in use for farming and other pur- 
poses, resemble the English stager : no heavy cart 
Jwrses are used. 

The sheep are mostly a cross with the native and 
merino, and cut about 3 lbs. of wool each, worth 37| 
cents per lb. 

Butter, taking the year round, sells for 12| cents 
per lb. Cheese, from 6 to 8 cents. Apples, from 25 to 
50 cents per bushel. Turkeys, from 6 to 8 cents per lb. 
Geese, 25 cents each. Fowls, 4 or 5 cents per lb. 
Beef is worth from 6 to 8 cents per lb. Veal, 3 to 4 
cents. Mutton, 4 cents. Lamb, 30 cents per quarter. 
Fresh pork, 6 cents per lb. 

Labourers* wages vary from 5 to 12 dollars per 
month — of course, exclusive of board — but few are 
hired by the day ; about half a dollar the usual price 
when that is the case : they work from daylight to 
dark all the year round. 

The land, as in Long Island, is tilled about equally 
by horses and oxen. Fallowing is much more in 
practice here than there. 

Tlie ploughs in use are all single, with cast-iron 
mould hoards and shares, well adapted to the country : 
the cost about 8 or 10 dollars each. 

Waggons are every where much lighter than in 



NEW HARTFORD Farming Journal. 79 

England, calculated for a pair of American horses, 
weighing about 8 or 10 cwt., and worth from 50 to 
60 dollars. But i^w horse carts are used ; those 
drawn by oxen are a heavy stout vehicle, much as in 
Herefordshire, worth 40 dollais: other implements 
are very similar to those used in England. 

Manure, in this part of the State, is not made a 
sufficient object of; oftentimes altogether neglected ; 
but the farmers ere long will learn its value, if I mis- 
take not. For years after land is cleared it does not 
require it : it is then too full of vegetable matter — in 
fact, nothing else ; but I have seen some naturally 
excellent land exhausted with cropping, and beg 
gared for want of manure. At Utica it may be plen- 
tifully obtained from 12f to 18 cents per ton. 

The usual description of fences are ivorm, or 
crooked rail fences, and post and rail : the cost of 
making them about 50 cents a rod. 

The roads are mostly indifferent ; they are repaired 
by a levy on the farmers, and a poll-tax of a day's 
work on every capable resident man in the parish : 
thus, working on the roads has a very different accep- 
tation here to what it has with us, the most respectable 
farmers, &c. taking their turn quite as a matter of 
course. 

The wild land is generally well, some of it nobly 
timbered ; many hemlock and other trees I have ob- 
served from 70 to 90 feet in the but, without one in- 
tervening bough, and of a proportionate thickness : 
the cost of clearing it is about 10 dollars per acre. 

There are a number of small streams, about the 

H 



80 NEW HARTFORD Farming Journal, 

centre of the county, which form the Mohawk river, 
rising in the N. E. and supply most valuable mill- 
seats ; the quality of the water, however, obtained for 
domestic purposes, is often very bad, sometimes wholly 
unfit to drink. Fever and ague, diseases which 
shake the constitution to pieces, prevail occasionally, 
and the winters are very protracted and severe ; more 
so, it is said, than further either to the east or west, 
so as to suspend farming operations for five or six 
months in the year, but the county, I believe, is con- 
sidered as healthy as most/ 

I might add further, but these observations, very 
loosely thrown together, will probably more than suf- 
fice the generality of readers. The contrast between 
Orange and Oneida counties, as regaixls the state of 
their agriculture, is greater than can well be conceived. 
Spafford, speaking of the latter, says, "^ Its agriculture 
is of the first order, and twenty years hence there will 
not be an acre of waste land in the county.' He also 
says, ' It has now probably more capital employed 
in manufactures than any county in this State.' He 
gives its area at 11 36 square miles. Latitude between 
42° 46', and 43° 33', N. and long. T 05' and 1° 6^ 
W., from New York. 

As I arrived at Utica from Albany very late in the 
evening, and left it at an early hour in the morning, 
only having visited it once since, and that not for any 
purpose of writing a description, I must be con- 
tent to offer a much shorter notice than I could wish 
to have given. 

'This flourishing village standfi on the south bank 



AND UTICA. SI 

of Moliawk river. It occupies the site of old Fort 
Schuyler, where a garrison was kept previous to the 
revolution. Some remains of this fort are still to be 
seen between the eastern extremity of Main-street and 
the river. A few Germans were settled here previous 
to the revolutionary war ; but a part were captured by 
the Indians, and the remnant sought a place of more 
security. The first permanent settler established him- 
self about four miles west of Fort Schuyler, in 1784. 
Five years afterwards a few families established them- 
selves on the site of the present village, and in 1798 
a village charter was granted to the place ; since 
which it has rapidly increased in population. In 
1813, it contained 1700 inhabitants; in 1816, 2828; 
in 1820, 2972; in 1823, 4017; in 1820, 6040; in 
1828,7460; and in 1829,9081. The village is re- 
gularly laid out, the streets of a good width, and 
mostly paved. Genesee-street, in particular, is pe- 
culiarly pleasant, and for the most part adorned witli 
elegant stores and dwellings. 

'There are numerous literary, benevolent, and reli- 
gious institutions in this place. Among these, the 
Oneida Institute of Science and Industry is perhaps 
the most worthy of remark, from its uniting manual 
with mental labour on the part of the students. There 
is a farm attached to it, comprising 114 acres, upon 
which each student labours from three to four hours per 
day ; and it is said that the experiment of two years 
proves that labour, from three to five hours per day, 
pays the board of the student in this plentiful region. 

It is principally intended for the education of those 



82 NEW HARTFORD Cluifon, ^'C. 

designed for the ministry, but its privileges are com-^ 
mon to all youth of unexceptionable character. There 
are also a classical academy, a library, lyceum, and 
nine churches, some of which are very elegant/ 

Utica is, as stated, 94 miles from Albany, 142 from 
Rochester, and from Buffalo 200. 

Another place in the neighbourhood, which I have 
seen with much interest, though in point of size in- 
significant to Utica, is Clinton. It is a very pretty 
village, six miles from New Hartford, and contains a 
number of respectable houses and buildings. Its 
situation is at the foot of a hill of considerable ascent, 
which is planted on each side with poplar trees, and 
on the summit of which stands Hamilton College, or 
colleges, for though the buildings are united there 
have been three separate erections. The corner stone 
of the first edifice was laid by that celebrated repub- 
lican patriot. Baron Steuben. Until very lately it was 
ranking high amongst institutions of the kind in the 
State, but I regret to hear that in consequence of some 
misunderstanding having arisen between the masters 
and students, it has been altogether deserted. 'Tis 
said, however, that a few of the latter are about to re- 
turn, and perhaps eventually it may regain its former 
pre-eminence : so vitally important are such institu- 
tions to the welfare of an infant republic that every 
lover of freedom, every good man, must ardently desire 
their prosperity. — From its elevated site, overlooking 
the village, there is a fine view of the surrounding 
plain, the fertile vale of the Mohawk, and the country, 
for many miles in extent, in different directions. 



DEPARTURE EOR AUBURN ONEIDA CASTLE. 83 

Paris, Westmoreland, and other townships, though 
abounding with good land, and chiefly well cultivated, 
as villages are unimportant. 

Previous to my arrival at New Hartford I had felt 
a little undecided as to my future route, but having 
no time for hesitation, and wishing to see what was 
considered the most interesting and fertile part of the 
State, I soon determined upon extending my journey 
westward as far as Buffalo, occasionally diverging 
through some of the counties as I passed along, and 
returning by Niagara, and either upon or along the 
shore of Lake Ontario. Having so decided, this 
morning,— 

August 23r(l, — I engaged a place by the Telegraph 
Stage, from New Hartford to Auburn, in Cayuga 
county, distance about seventy miles ; and soon after 
eight o'clock had seated myself upon the most ob- 
durate leathern seat of the vehicle, and was bounding 
and rebounding along as vigorously as ever, though 
well up to my travelling traces again, and prepared 
* to dash through thick and thin/ 

The first village we arrive at is Manchester, five 
miles from New Hartford ; next, Vernon, eight miles 
further; neither requiring comment; the land good 
and seemingly well farmed nearly all the way. Five 
miles from Vernon is Oneida Castle, a village situated 
upon the Oneida creek, and at which there is a set» 
tlement called here a reservation of the Oneida and 
Tuscarora Indians, several of whom I saw. A squaw 
(woman) I particularly noticed, who came to solicit 
charity, with one of the most marked and disgusting 
H 2 



84 ONEIDA CASTLE Indian Settlement, 

countenances I think I ever beheld. I was told, and 
have no reason to doubt it, that she was one hundred 
years old, more or less ; she appeared tolerably stout 
and robust, and I suspect what was evinced to the 
contrary was about as much feigned as real. Several 
children also, nearly in a state of nudity, came to us 
for a like purpose, and displayed their agility by keep- 
ing up with the stage, and we drove pretty fast, for 
some distance^ though I thought their performances, 
notwithstanding the attention they appeared to excite, 
very inferior to those of the urchins of our own country, 
who will not only run parallel with the coach, but 
with amazing rapidity turn over and over upon their 
hands and feet into the bargain, and, alas ! I fear, 
with quite as good a plea of necessity. The tribe 
occupy about one-third of the township, and their 
number is estimated at 1100. They still retain some 
of the customs of their forefathers, and their usual 
dress is nothing more than a blanket thrown across 
the shoulders, and tied round the neck. They are 
wretched agriculturists, as their lands fully demon- 
strate ; but I am told, for several months in the year, 
they totally neglect them, and repair to the forests in 
the northern part of country, on hunting excursions ; 
— so hardly are we weaned from inbred habits and 
propensities ! A correspondent of Spafford's states 
that * there are missionaries amongst them to teach 
them letters and relio;ion, and they pay one of them 
near two hundred dollars a year, besides making him 
a great many presents. These Indians are a harmless, 
inoffensive set of beings, but have lost much of their 



AND CHITTENINGO. h£» 

ancient spirit and energy. Several of them have be- 
come voluntary apprentices to different mechanics, 
placed amongst them by the Baptists, such as black- 
smiths, wheelwrights, &c. ; and many of the Indian 
women are becoming weavers and spinners, under the 
instruction of benevolent females of the missionary 
family/ — ' Mr. Williams,' adds the Doctor, ' late 
a missionary here, now of Green Bay, is of mixed 
blood, lineally descended from the Rev. Mr. Williams, 
of Deerfield, whose captivity and sufferings we have 
all read when children. He is a man of very consi- 
derable education, and seems to lead in a plan for col- 
lecting all our Indians into one great band, but I know 
nothing of the success or prospects of the scheme.' 

The road from this place, through the small villages 
of Lenox and Quality Hill to Chitteningo, eleven miles, 
is much elevated, commanding a fine view of the lofty 
mountains to the north : the soil is rich, but strangely 
overgrown with the Canada thistle, the down from 
which is wafted about in all directions, and has almost 
the appearance of falling snow. — Before reaching 
Chitteningo there is one of the finest specimens of 
native forest I have seen in the country — I ever saw 
— tree interwoven with tree — a dense mass of forest — 
seeming to bid defiance to the footsteps, ay, even the 
hands of man; and yet but a few years may elapse 
ere this wilderness becomes a fertile plain, ere the 
share of the husbandman passes over its surface, and 
the abodes of happy industry are raised upon it ! So 
rapid are the strides of improvement and cultivation 
in this enterprising country. 



86 SYRACUSE AND 

The village Chitteningo, on the creek of the same 
name, and about two miles from the canal, to which 
a cut has been made, has little to attract the attention 
of a stranger ; but on arriving at Syracuse, through 
Hartsville and Fayetteville, fifteen miles, you are 
agreeably surprised at seeing a handsome thriving 
village, quite a business-like place. The canal passes 
directly through it, on both sides of which there are 
a number of spacious stores and warehouses. The 
population I should estimate at something, like 1,500. 
On alighting at the principal hotel, which is a very 
handsome and commodious brick building, I ob- 
served a thermometer hanging in the shade, and exposed 
to a current of air, standing at 88° ; this was about 
four o'clock in the afternoon. No doubt, during the 
day, it had been as high as 90°. 

My stay here did not admit of my visiting the valu- 
able and very extensive salt springs which abound 
in the neighbourhood, and to which Syracuse is in- 
debted for its growth and existence. The reader, how- 
ever, in the subjoined information, will have little 
cause to regret my want of opportunity. 

' A little west of Syracuse, a plain of 300 acres, (a 
fart of tvJiich we passed over,) is nearly covered with 
vats for the manufacture of salt by solar evaporation. 
The water is brought in logs from the great spring at 
Salina, one mile distant, and supplies, with very 
little attention, the various ranges of vats. A light 
roof is constructed to each vat, which can be shoved 
off or on at pleasure, to permit the rays of the sun to 
act upon the water, or to prevent the dampness of the 



s A LIN A Salt Works. 87 

atmosphere from commingling- therewith. The salt is 
taken out of these vats twice or three times during: 
the warm season, and removed to store-houses, from 
whence it is conveyed in barrels to the canal for 
transportation. 

* The spring at Salina was first discovered by the 
Indians, many years since, by being the resort of deer 
and other animals. The first white settlers were in 
the habit of boiling the water for domestic purposes. 
Since then the spring has been excavated to a con- 
siderable depth, and affords the strongest saline water 
yet discovered in the world, forty gallons yielding about 
a bushel of pure salt. The water is forced up to the 
top of an adjoining hill by a powerful hydraulian, 
driven by the surplus waters from the Oswego canal, 
which commences at this place. The salt water is in 
this way conveyed eighty-five feet above the canal to 
a large reservoir, into which it is discharged at the 
rate of three hundred gallons per minute. It is 
hence carried to the different factories in Salina and 
Syracuse. Of these there are about one hundred at 
Salina, and twenty -three at Syracuse ; there are also 
twenty- six at Liverpool, about six miles N. W. of 
Salina, and twenty-five at Geddesburgh, two miles 
W. of Syracuse. The works and springs all belong 
to the State, to which imposts are payable to the 
amount of 63 cents per barrel of five bushels,* and 
every manufacturer pays 2 cents per bushel for the 
use of the water. The water is conveyed from the 

* These duties are applied by the constitution of the State towards 
the extinguishment of the canal debt. 



88 MARCELLUS -SK ANEATELES, 

reservoir to the difterent manufactories and evapo- 
rating fields by means of wooden pipes. The salt 
is manufactured generally by boiling and evapora- 
tion. There are, however, two establishments in 
which it is made in large wooden vats by means of 
hot air passing through them in large metallic pipes. 
The manufactories contain from fifteen to forty pot- 
ash kettles, under each of which a constant fire is 
kept up, so that the water may not cease to boil. 
The first deposit of the water is thrown away. The 
pure salt soon after makes its appearance, and is re- 
fined for the table by means of blood, milk, rosin, &c. 
The springs are considered as inexhaustible. In 
1828, there were 1,160,888 bushels inspected; and 
in 1829, 1,291,820 bushels; showing an increase of 
130,932 bushels. Of this, 745,741 bushels were in- 
spected at Salina, 229,317 at Syracuse, 187,540 at 
Liverpool, and 129,222 at Geddes. 

' Salina is a village of much less magnitude than 
Syracuse, but it is not improbable that they will ere 
long become a continuous town. The Onondaga Lake 
is about a mile distant from the place. It is six miles 
long, and two broad. Gypsum and petrifactions are 
found in great quantities in the vicinity of the lake.' 

A la route, Marcellus is the next i)lace, containing 
perhaps fifty houses, and in the neighbourhood are 
found great quantities of water lime or cement, and 
some petrifactions. It is thirteen miles from Syra- 
cuse. 

Six miles further brought us to Skaneafelefi, a much 
larger and more interesting village, very pleasantly 



AND ARRIVAL AT AUBURN. 89 

situated just at the foot of the Skaneateles Lake, along- 
which you have a fine view for several miles. The 
lake is about fifteen miles in length, and 1; to 1| miles 
wide. In its vicinity are several genteel residences, 
as well as in the village, and also a Friends boarding- 
school. The population of the place is estimated at 
3,000. The following stage of seven miles brought 
us to Auburn, about half-past eight in the evening, 
having been twelve hours and a half in accomplish- 
ing the seventy miles, which, taking into account the 
state of the roads, the heat of the day, &c. is by no 
means to be complained of. During the latter part 
of the way the country was but partially cleared, but 
wherever cultivated, it appeared rich and productive. 
I did not find the price of land varying much from 
30 dollars per acre; that is, for improved farms with 
good buildings upon them. The average produce, 
say of wheat, 25 bushels per acre, sold from 75 cents 
to 1 dollar per bushel, chiefly at the stores in the 
village nearest the farm. 

I am here quartered at the American Hotel, an 
establishment upon a very extended scale, kept by 

JSfoyes. The building is of freestone, five stories 

high, with piazzas, twenty feet or more in width, up 
to the third story. Many of the apartments are large 
and elegantly furnished, and I am informed they can, 
if requisite, make up 250 or 300 beds. It has been 
recently erected, and, excepting at New York, is quite 
the best inn I have seen in the State; so much has it 
pleased me, in fact, that I am tempted to forego my 
half resolve, not to make trial of a public dormitory 



90 AUBURN State Prison. 

again in the country. I shall venture this once upon 
the credit of fair promise, and will report progress in 
the morning. 

August 24th. — For once appearances have not been 
deceitful. I have slept undisturbed, excepting that I 
was aroused at a pretty early hour this morning by 
the loud pealing of thunder, without any disposition, 
however, to complain either of cause or consequence, 
the limited time I shall have to spend here not war- 
ranting much indulgence in this way ; to which, when 
most an idler, Pm not over prone. 

As an object of first attraction I proceeded to visit 
the State Prison, situated here, and considered one of 
the first in the Union. 'It was commenced in 1816, 
and is constructed upon the plan of a hollow square, 
inclosed by a wall 2000 feet in extent, being 500 feet 
on each side. The front of the prison, including the 
keeper's dwelling, is about 300 feet, and the two wings, 
extending west, are 240 feet each. The north wing 
contains the solitary cells and hospital, and the south 
wing is divided principally into two large rooms. Be- 
tween the two wings is a grass plat with gravel walks ; 
to the west of which is the interior yard, covered with 
gravel, containing reservoirs of water, and surrounded 
with workshops. These shops, besides the paint shop, 
form a continued range of 900 feet, and are well 
lighted by windows in the sides and from the roof. 
They are built of brick, and are well secured against 
fire. The outer walls, against which the shops are 
built, are thirty-five feet high in the inside, and the 
other walls about twenty. They are four feet thick. 



AUB u RN Siate Prison. 9 1 

and the walls of the prison three feet thick. The 
expense of the whole, without including the labour of 
convicts employed, was above 300,000 dollars." The 
prison being erected on the bank of the Oivasco, water- 
power is applied, in many cases to great advantage, 
in propelling machinery." 

About six o'clock I applied at the door for admit- 
tance, which was granted on my paying twenty-five 
cents, and one of the keepers commissioned to con- 
duct me over the establishment. We first visited 
the cells, which the convicts leave at half-past five in 
the morning. These gloomy abodes are about seven 
or eight feet long, by four feet wide, and perhaps 
about seven feet in height. They are lighted from 
windows in the roof of the passage into which they 
open through ponderous iron doors. All the furni- 
ture they contain is a hammock, which is let down in 
the day-time, a stool, and a Bible upon a shelf in one 
of the corners. — From these we passed on to the work- 
shops, where the convicts were busily employed in 
their different avocations ; tailoring, shoemaking, 
weaving; machine, button, cabinet making, &c. ; 
coopering, and smiths' work in general. These various 
manufactures, besides what are requisite for the pri- 
son, are furnished to all the principal stores in Au- 
burn, and sent to different parts of the State. My 
guide afterwards conducted me to the cooking apart- 
ment, where some of the convicts were engaged in 
preparing the morning's repast for the rest, and which 
I presently saw arranged with great neatness in the 
general eating-room : it consisted of cofiee, Indian 
I 



92 AUBURN State Prison. 

com bread, and boiled fish. At half- past six they 
were summoned by a bell to partake of it, upon which 
occasion I had a good opportunity of observing some 
of the most striking characteristics of the system. 
The convicts were arranged in separate corps, " mov- 
ing in single file, with a slow lock step, and erect pos- 
ture, keeping exact time, with their faces inclined 
towards their keepers, (that they may detect conversa- 
tion, of which none is ever permitted,) all giving to 
the spectator somewhat similar feelings to those excited 
by a military funeral." In a short time all were seated 
at the diflferent tables, in the most orderly and regular 
manner, and, upon a signal being given by the keepers, 
with one simultaneous movement commenced their 
meal. Had I not witnessed the scene, I should have 
supposed it morally impossible for such a number of 
individuals to be assembled together,* for such a pur- 
pose, with so little noise and confusion. It was a very 
interesting, though at the same time a very painful 
and humiliating spectacle ; and various were the re- 
flections which hurried across my mind whilst looking 
round upon these imprisoned victims of crime, of 
almost every grade and malignancy. Some appeared 
calm and resigned, or sensible of the guilt and degra- 
dation of their situation ; others displayed an entire 
indifference to their fiite; whilst in a few I noticed the 
black expressions of obdurate cruelty, ferocity, and 
revenge, demonstrating but too plainly the justice of 
the doom which had overtaken them. 

* There are at this time (j3.j ])crsou^ in coufinement, twenty-twa 
only of whom are m oiuea. 



AUBURN- Sidte Prison. 93 

Breakfast concluded (and there did not appear, on 
the part of the keepers, the smallest disposition to 
hurry over the ceremony; all were allowed sufficient 
time, and materials too, even for a hearty repast,) the 
prisoners rose again in like order, and were forthwith 
marched back to their different workshops and employ- 
ments ; — here, the guide informed me, they were kept 
until twelve o'clock, when they were again summoned 
to dinner, after which they resume their labour till six, 
when their daily toil is done : they are then marched 
off to their separate cells, each carrying his supper 
with him, and eating alone, if not in darkness, his last 
cheerless meal. There is a chapel within the prison, 
which the prisoners attend regularly every sabbath ; 
a Sunday school has also been established ; and in 
the hospital every attention is paid to such as re- 
quire it. 

The severity of the punishment here exercised con- 
sists in preventing every kind of intercourse of one 
convict with another: whether at their work, or at 
their meals, they are compelled to observe the most 
absolute and uniform silence; not the slightest attempt 
at communication would escape notice; and every 
offender against this tenacious and positive require- 
ment is punished by flogging, — an alternative, however, 
rarely needed. I observed the young and the old, 
and every description of character, mixed indiscrimi- 
nately together, but from which, with the restrictions 
imposed, no evil consequence can possibly arise. A 
decided majority, upon leaving the prison, have be- 
come reformed and useful members of society. It is 



94 AUBURN. 

altogether conducted upon an admirable principle, 
and reflects the highest credit upon the projectors and 
the country; affording, at the same time, an exalted 
contrast, when compared with our miserable recep- 
tacles for this class of society : in them, if reformation 
take place, it is by miracle ; here, frequent, and the 
end and object of the institution. 

On returning to the hotel again, soon after seven 
o'clock, I found a pretty large company collected for 
breakfast, a very excellent one, and of which, after the 
ordinary fashion, we all partook at one common table. 
This ceremony over I sallied forth to take a hasty view 
of the town, {village, I should say,) ere the stage ar- 
rived which was to convey me onward. — Auburn is 
situated on the Owasco creek ; it consists principally 
of one street, running east and west, which contains a 
number of good stores and private dwellings, a court- 
house, and a large hotel, independent of the one I am 
quartered at, called the Western Exchange. There are 
also, at the eastern end of the village, some extensive 
mills and manufactories. Its population is called 
more than 4,000, with every appearance of increasing, 
as buildings are springing up all around. The adja- 
cent country is very level, and of no particular in- 
terest : the land is loosely cultivated, and, without 
reflection, you would be ready to say that the town 
had pitched itself here before it was w ell prepared to 
receive it. The canal is distant about seven miles to 
the south ; but it is intended, either by a cut or rail- 
road, to form a communication with it, which will 
greatly add to the importance and facilities of the place. 



CAYUGA BRIDGE. 95 

Leaving Auburn, we next came to Cayuga, (eight 
miles,) a small village standing on the eastern side, 
and near the extremity of the lake of that name, and 
over which we passed by a wooden bridge, one mile 
and eight rods in length, — a most barbarous struc- 
ture, built upon piles, and conveying the idea, if not 
the reality, of great insecurity ; as the planks, or logs, 
upon which you pass, uncovered with gravel, soil, or 
other material, are of all shapes and sizes, heedlessly 
laid across from side to side, without nails or any 
kind of fastening whatever. In many instances I 
observed them scarcely resting upon the supports on 
each side, and the waters of the lake every where 
visible below : of course, as they were acted upon by 
the weight and motion of the coach and horses, they 
were perpetually jolting up and down, so that it was a 
matter of astonishment to me how the animals could 
pass over at the rate they did, a good brisk trot, with- 
out getting their feet between them; the accom- 
panying noise and clatter, too, was any thing but 
agreeable. An English traveller, however, must 
leave all his fears and prej udices at home, and be here 
content to dash on, over, under, or through whatever 
it may please the driver and his steeds to convey him. 
The lake is about thirty-eight miles long, and of very 
various breadth, from one to four miles. " A steam- 
boat is plying daily between the Bridge and Ithica, 
a beautiful and thriving village at the head of the 
lake, thirty-six miles distant," and near to which I 
understand are several falls well worth notice. 

Some good farms are to be met with in the neigh- 
I 2 



96 SENECA FALLS, WATERLOO, AND GENEVA, 

bourhood of the lake, as well as in other parts of the 
county. 

The next village is Seneca Falls, (three miles.) It 
is said to contain upwards of 2,000 inhabitants, though 
I should have rated the population at much less ; has 
several mills, a tannery, distillery, and a few stores. 
" A canal, twenty miles long,^has been constructed 
from this place to the Erie canal at Montezuma, 
which, connected with a branch of the Seneca river, 
gives an uninterrupted water communication from 
Geneva to the lakes and the ocean." 

Four miles further is Waterloo; but I am no great 
admirer of Waterloos, nor can I, in its present state, 
bestow the inordinate praise upon this place which 
some have done. It is a half shire town, considerably 
larger than Seneca Falls; contains a court-house, jail, 
and several stores, but it is altogether a most irregu- 
larly-built and unfinished place, and whatever im- 
portance or interest time may add to its character, I 
have spoken of it as it now is, and without much of 
either. I observed several mills upon the Seneca 
river, or outlet, on which the village stands. 

Passing on to Geneva, seven miles from Waterloo, 
I am pleased to be able to make a much more favour- 
able report. For the last two miles, as we approached, 
the road became highly interesting, winding along 
the northern end of the Seneca Lake; just to the west 
of which, at a considerable elevation, the village is 
situated ; one of the principal streets running imme- 
diately down to the lake, and the other along the 
summit of the bank and parallel with it j extending be- 



GENEVA. 97 

yond which are many elegant private residences, the 
gardens and grounds overhanging the lake, and which, 
whilst they add to the beauty, command a fine pros- 
pect of the charming scenery around. The public 
buildings consist of a college, recently erected, but 
which is handsomely endowed, and promises to arrive 
at eminence ; three or four churches, a bank, and two 
pretty comfortable inns. Many of the stores are 
commodious and well furnished: one I noticed ad- 
vertised as follows : — *' A Heimpus, variety store ;" — 
a tolerably correct definition of stores in general, 
especially in the country towns, which not unfre- 
quently display the most heterogeneous collection of 
articles that can be well conceived, and embrace in 
their individual capacity what with us would occupy 
a score of diflferent professors. 

I should think the present population of Geneva 
might be estimated at 3,000. It is twelve miles from 
the Erie canal, but has a water communication with 
it, which has much increased its trade and importance. 
From hence a delightful excursion is frequently taken 
down the lake, in a steam-boat plying daily, to 
Jeffersonville at the head of it. The lake is thirty- 
five miles long, and three or four miles wide, and is 
esteemed one of the purest and most beautiful sheets 
of water of the kind in America. 

After spending the chief part of the day at Geneva 
and its delightful environs, I took my departure for 
Canandaigua, fifteen miles distant, — in travelling to 
which I passed over one of the finest farming districts 
f have yet seen in the State of New York. The land 



98 TO CANANDAiriUA. 

is agreeablyundulated, of excellent quality, well fenced, 
in smaller in closures than 1 have noticed in other parts, 
and in a superior state of cultivation. The grain was 
mostly housed, but, independent oi report, the stubbles 
themselves were ample evidence of the plentiful crops 
which had been taken oflf them, and the grass and seeds 
were looking remarkably healthy and well. Farms in 
this part, with good houses and buildings upon them, 
and chiefly they are so, are to be bought at from 30 to 
45 dollars per acre. Wheat is selling for 70 or 80 cents 
a bushel, and meat from three to six cents per pound, 
which may be given as about the general average 
prices of those articles ; and labourers' wages are 
usually from ten to twelve dollars per month. In the 
immediate neighbourhood of Ganandaigua village the 
land, I am told, is chiefly held by two or three large 
proprietors, whose farms are from 1,000 to 1,500 acres 
each. 

What a contrast, delightful contrast, does this state 
of things present to the situation in which Dr. Spaf- 
ford reports that he found them in 1797 ! " The set- 
tlement of this township," observes the Doctor, " com- 
menced in 1790, and in 1797 I found it but feeble, 
contending with innumerable embarrassments and 
difficulties. The spring of that year was uncommonly 
wet and cold. Besides a good deal of sickness, mud 
knee deep, musquetoes and gnats so thick that you 
could hardly breathe without swallowing them, rattle- 
snakes and ten thousand discouragements, every where 
incident to new settlements ; surrounded by all these, 
in June of that year, I saw, with wonder, that these 



CANANDAIGUA. 99 

people, all Yankees, from Massachusetts, Connecticut, 
and Vermont, were perfectly undismayed, 'looking 
forward in hope,' ' sure and stedfast/ They talked 
to me of what the country would be, by-and-by, as 
if it were hutory, and I received it as all fable. In 
order to see the whole ' power of the county,^ a 
military muster of all men bearing arms, I waited a 
day or two, and attended 'the training.' Major 
Wadsworth was the commanding officer, and includ- 
ing the men who had gims, and the men who had not, 
the boys, women, and children, it was supposed that 
near two hundred persons were collected. This 
training, one of the first, was held at Captain Pitts', 
on the Honeoye, and lasted all day and all night. 
The early settlers of every new country are sanguine 
in hopes and expectations, and it is well they should 
be. Lands were selling, in 1797, in the very heart 
of this fine region, at 25 cents an acre." — "1 like," 
continues the Doctor, "to trace the progress of affairs 
from their small beginnings, never ' despising the 
day of small things.' The reader will indulge me in 
this digression, so out of the way with most people, 
but perfectly in character with the pursuits of a 
general gleaner." Like him, I beg pardon, if neces- 
sary; the comparison of past and present was too 
pleasing to allow me to forego it. 

It was between eight and nine in the evening 
when we arrived at Canadaigua : the day had been 
remarkably fine, though 20"^ or 30*" cooler than yes- 
terday, changes which are rather trying to weakly 
constitutions. We were driven up to Blossoms Hotel, 



100 CANANDAIGUA. 

a building little inferior in size to the American 
Hotel, in Auburn, but much older, and not so clean. 
The landlord, a jolly sort of fellow, had just re- 
turned from an excursion to the Western Lakes and 
Ohio, and being visited by numerous congratulatory 
friends and acquaintance, the house was in a tolera- 
ble state of confusion for the remainder of the even- 
ing, — the bar, of course, being the only general room 
of resort. After some kw ineffectual attempts at 
journalizing, I inquired of the waiter as to the pro- 
bable security with which I might make my advances 
to a chamber, and replete with most satisfactory 
assurances, was glad to effect my escape, and leave 
them to feast on their tvit and wine, which, though 
abundant, were neither of first rate quality, as much 
and as long as they liked. 

August 25th. — Foolishly presuming upon the 
waiter's recommendation, and the comfortable night 
passed at Auburn, I have not escaped without a scar, 
though in a far less vvoful plight than heretofore, 
and happy to think I am getting more out of the 
way of the nuisance. 

Before breakfast I made my first, and almost only, 
survey of Canandaigua, which I admire even more 
than Geneva. Its situation is on the north-western 
extremity of the Canadaigua Lake,* where the main 
street, nearly two miles in length, commences, rising 
gradually to its termination. It is planted on each 
side with trees, and expands about the middle of the 

* The Lake is fourteen miles long, and from one to two in 
breadth, and has a steam-boat daily plying upon it. 



CANANDAIGUA Steam Mill Burnt. 101 

village into a fine open square, where the court- 
house, clerks' office, episcopal church, and other hand- 
some public buildings are situated. The private resi- 
dences, both in the village and vicinity, are uncom- 
monly elegant, laid out with courts and gardens, and 
every way w^orthy of the affluence and respectability 
of their occupants; many of them commanding a 
beautiful view of the lake and its surrounding- 
scenery. The population amounts to 5000, more or 
less — not less, I think, certainly — and in 1790, Spafl 
ford says, there was but a single human habitation 
in it. 

A short time previous to my visit, a large steam 
flour mill, belonging to Messrs. Pomeroy and Bull, 
of New York, standing just at the entrance of the 
village, had been entirely destroyed by fire. The 
occurrence is supposed to have originated in the 
contents of a pipe, falling on a cloth, or some com- 
bustible substance in an adjoining room; — one of 
the many evils arising from the use of that worthless 
weed — tobacco ; and not the first or second of the kind 
that has come under my immediate knowledge: — 
would that it were for ever banished from the abodes 
of ci-vilization ! The inconvenience produced by 
the calamity, I see thus adverted to in a Canan- 
daigua paper: — '''The destruction of this flouring 
establishment, which was built in the best manner, 
and at a ruinous expense, by its original enterprising 
proprietors, is not only a severe loss to those directly 
interested, but to our village, and to our neighbours 
in towns adjacent. This mill created, as it were, a 



102 TO ROCHESTER. 

ready and convenient market for large quantities of 
wheat ; imparted animation to business round about, 
and gave employment to numbers of our citizens. 
Its importance to the community, like the blessing 
of health, is mostly severely felt, by sudden depriva- 
tion. The property was insured by the Etna Com- 
pany to the amount of 8000 dollars." 

Canandaigua stands upon the great western stage 
route to Buffalo and Niagara; is distant from the 
former place 89, and from the latter 109 miles, and 
208 from Albany: it is also 12 miles south of the 
Erie canal, with which it has a water communication. 

In the neighbourhood are several springs charged 
with inflammable gas, or, as they are called, hurning 
springs, well worth the attention of the virtuoso. 

From hence to Rochester, (only 27 miles in a direct 
line,) I performed a very circuitous route, travelling 
partly by stage, partly by waggon, and partly on 
foot, through Victor, Minden, Pittsford, Henrietta 
Corners, &c. The road is very bad nearly the whole 
of the way, and there is a good deal of land un- 
cleared ; but, at the same time, there is much in a 
fine state of cultivation, and I passed over some very 
eligible farms; the prices, products, expenses, &c., 
much as those quoted in Oneida county. About a 
mile to the south of Pittsford, a small village ten miles 
from Rochester, a farm was pointed out to me, now 
offering for sale by a gentleman whose family are set- 
tling in Michigan, where population is much on the 
increase. It consists of three hundred acres of land, 
the quality of the soil varying between sand and loam ; 



ROCHESTER. 103 

IS well timbered, well fenced, and has a good house 
and outbuilding's upon it. The price asked is thirty- 
five dollars per acre, but I have no idea that ten dol- 
lars less would be refused. I also called upon a gen- 
tleman, by the request of a friend, who has recently 
emigrated from England into this neighbourhood, and 
is farming upon a small scale. He complains of a 
want of society, and many deprivations and incon- 
veniences, a great deal to put up ivith; and I give him 
full credit for all. I sincerely hope he may ultimately 
find himself rewarded for the sacrifices he has made; 
but, in my opinion, for one ignorant of farmmg, and 
wholly unused to a country life, he has retreated sadly 
too far from JsTew York ; and little would it surprise 
me to hear, before any remote period, that he had 
arrived at a like conclusion. I left him some English 
newspapers, which I guess he would not put by un- 
read. 

It was late this evening before I gained a footing in 
Rochester ; too late, and I am too much tired, to ex- 
plore further. The day has been very fine ; tempera- 
ture quite agreeable. 

August 26th, — Before seven o'clock this morning I 
had perambulated the streets, as well as a part of the 
suburbs of this remarkable village, which has fully 
answered every representation I had heard of it. It 
is, indeed, scarcely credible that in the period of 
eighteen short years a place of the present extent and 
importance of Rochester should have arisen from the 
wilds of a forest; and, if such evidence were needed, 
it would alone speak volumes as to the energy and 



104 ROCHESTER Sam Patch. 

enterprise of a people who, with the obstacles and 
impediments which they must have had to contend 
against, have produced such splendid results. There 
are not only spacious and well-arranged streets, with 
corresponding stores and warehouses, and private re- 
sidences of elegance and respectability; but, besides a 
court-house, gaol, and eleven churches, two markets, 
two banks, and several very excellent hotels, there is 
a museum, institute, an athenaeum, an arcade, a Vaux- 
hall, public baths, reading-rooms, &c. &c., and a 
population of more than 13,000 souls ! and, in the 
face of all this, there are even now the stumps of trees 
standing in some of the streets. Surely, as Spafford 
well observes, " it must be admitted that the growth 
of this place has been rapid, almost beyond example 
in any country, even in our own, the best supplied 
with such examples." 

I found mine host here a respectable and obliging 
man, and under his auspices I visited objects of most 
interest in and about the village ; amongst others, the 
Falls, where Sam Patch, that notorious fall jumper , 
finished his mad career in the autumn of 1829. There 
are two falls within a short distance of each other, 
the one descending twelve, the other ninety-seven feet. 
Upon a projecting rock about the centre of these he 
erected a scaffold twenty-five feet in height, making 
together 122 feet, from which he fearlessly leaped into 
the gulph beneath. '' He did not rise at that time to 
the surface, nor was his body found until the follow- 
ing spring, when it was discovered at the mouth of the 
Genesee river, six miles below. His arms were pro- 



ROCHESTER. 105 

bably dislocated at the first shock, as he carried them 
horizontally; and the depth of the water being only 
fifteen feet, it is supposed that he was killed by strik- 
ing" on the rocky bottom. He was a little less than 
three seconds in falling, and struck the surface with a 
force of about SOOOlbs." My attendant, however, tells 
me that he was pretty generally known to have been 
intoxicated at the time; and to that circumstance, 
more than any other, is to be attributed the fatal re- 
sult, as, independent of his performances at Niagara, 
he had once or twice before, when sober, jumped from 
that very spot, without the slightest injury or incon- 
venience. All that can be said of it is, that any where 
and every where they were the acts of a madman, and 
sooner or later were likely to incur a destiny, I had 
almost said, due to such presumptuous, absurd 
temerity. 

I afterwards visited the market, which I saw well 
supplied with meat, fish, fruits, and vegetables, all of 
various kinds. The first named article was selling at 
from 4 to 6 cents per lb., others equally moderate. 
Eggs 10 cents a dozen. Butter 10 to 12 cents a lb. 
Cheese 6 cents a lb. Flour (retail) 4| dollars a bar- 
rel, wholesale 4 J. Wheat 87| cents to 1 dollar a 
bushel. Oats 25 cents a bushel ; considered a low 
price. Hay 5 dollars per ton. 

Wheat is now eagerly bought, and brings a better 
price than at any other season of the year, as the canal 
being open the millers are making every effort to get 
their flour to New York, &c., ere the frosts commence. 
•—At this, as at most of the villages, as I have passed 



1X)6 ROCHESTEft, 

along I have observed advertisements at the stores, in 
the public papers, and the bars of inns, offering th« 
utmost cash price for any quantity of wheat, &c. 

The weight of flour made here annually is prodi- 
gious. ** Within the limits of the village are eleven 
flouring mills, containing fifty-three run of stones, 
capable of manufacturing 2,500 bushels of flour, and 
consuming more than 12,000 bushels of wheat every 
twenty-four hours. Some of the mills are on a scale 
of magnitude perhaps not equalled in the world, and 
all are considered unrivalled in the perfection of their 
machinery." The charge for freight of flour from Ro- 
chester to New York is 90 cents a barrel. 

Besides flour, there are various other mills and 
manufactories, distilleries, breweries, &c. &c., every 
thing bespeaking the rising wealth and importance of 
the place. 

The canal runs directly through the village^ and is 
carried across the Genesee river, which also flows 
through it, by an aqueduct. The river, at the distance 
of seven miles, empties itself into Lake Ontario; 
thus affording an easy and valuable navigation to the 
Canadas. During the summer a steam-boat is plying 
upon the Lake, between Niagara and Ogdensburgh, 
on the river St. Lawrence. 

Canal packets and stages are leaving Rochester 
every morning and evening, east and west; and stages 
in different directions frequently during the day. I 
have omitted to mention — but I have omitted a great 
deal, for which want of time must be my apology — 
that there are two daily, and, I think, three weekly 



TO 6ENESEO. 107 

newspapers now in publication at this busy, spirited 
place. 

From Rochester, instead of proceeding dii-ect to 
Buffalo, I took the stage to Geneseo, (31 miles S.) 
wishing to see the country along the banks of the 
Genesee river. Two miles out of the town 1 noticed 
a thrashing machine in operation, a wooden one to be 
sure ; but still a thrashing machine. It is the first I 
have seen in the country, was worked hy two horses, 
and appeared to be rather an object of curiosity iii its 
neighbourhood. A few miles further we had the 
misfortune to get capsized, the linchpin of the hind- 
wheel falling out, if (as I very much query) there 
was one in at starting. The road, however, was 
tolerably good in the part where the accident oc- 
curred, and all escaped without injury; though not 
without the grievous discomfiture of a few fair 
nymphs, my companions in peril. Had it happened 
at any of the bridges or unguarded passes, with 
which this country abounds, it is more than pro- 
bable there would have been a full and final end to 
coach, horses, and cargo. It was further fortunate 
that a village was near at hand, from which we pro- 
cured help, righted the carriage, stuck in a wooden 
linchpin, and in the course of twentj^ minutes were 
rattling along as if no disaster had befallen us, or 
could by possibility occur again. 

We got to Geneseo about five in the afternoon. 
The land, the whole of the way, presented the ap- 
pearance of extreme fertility, though not bstter than 

in the township of Canandaigua^ and the cultivation 
K 2 



108 GENESEO, 

I thought far inferior ; a considerable portion of it 
seemed to want good drainage, and some of the arable 
lands were in a most foul state, admitting, however, 
many exceptions. 

The township of Geneseo was settled in 1790, by a 
family of the name of Wadsworth, from Connecticut, 
who own an immense tract of land between and Ro- 
chester, and are farmers themselves upon a very 
extensive scale. 

Evening. — I am just returned from a walk over a part 
of their flats, which extend for miles along the banks of 
the river, and more beautiful or luxuriant meadows and 
fields I never beheld. They were engaged in getting 
their hay, (as said, the last crop in America, except 
Indian corn,) which was an immense bulk, nor had 
their crops of grain been less abundant; thirty-five 
bushels of wheat to the acre being considered below 
the average. Hemp is also cultivated to some ex- 
tent. The country, however, in the neighbourhood 
of the flats has the character of not being very 
healthy ; instances of the fever and ague are fre- 
quently occurring, and were I to choose a location, 
I should greatly prefer other parts of the State. 

The village of Geneseo has nothing particular to 
recommend it. It is small and has but few good 
houses or buildings of any kind in it. There are 
three hotels, (and by chance I have been at them 
all,) which, though tolerably large, are sad dirty, 
comfortless places. I have no wish to quarter in 
them again. — The day has been very fine, but rather 
to be called cool, than warm, for the season. 



TO AVON. 109 

August 27th. — We have had a night cold enough 
for November, and this morning the flats are all 
enveloped in fog, as dense as ever rested on Eng- 
lish fen. 

The water at breakfast was so intolerably bad, that 
even in coffee I could not take it, and was oblijjed 
to call for milk ; — I mention this because I think it 
important to be noticed: — excepting at Brooklyn, I do 
not recollect to have tasted really pure, good water 
in any part of the country where I have been ; fre- 
quently it has been almost undrinkable, and, lohere- 
ever worst, there has been most of the fever and ague 
prevailing. 

Having seen quite as much of Geneseo as I de- 
sired, I should have taken a private conveyance this 
morning to Avon, (ten miles distant,) in order to 
meet the Buffalo stages, which usually pass through 
that place about nine o'clock, had I not been assured 
by the agents of the regular coach here that I 
should reach by their vehicle in abundant time; in 
which they most completely deceived me. As usual, 
we had to drive round to the different inns, and 
several private houses to pick up passengers, who 
were not in readiness, and with one hindrance and 
another were near two hours behind the stated time 
of starting ; and, when off, went dreaming along at 
the rate of three miles and a half per hour — there is 
no opposition on this road — I, therefore, only ar- 
rived at Avon in time to know that I could proceed 
no further for the day, all the western stages having 
passed. Remonstrance was in vain ; the parties here 



110 AVON Shooting Excursion, 

disclaimed all participation in the imposition, regret- 
ting it like myself; my fare was paid, and there was 
an end of it. 

As an object of attraction in the neighbourhood, a 
recently discovered mineral spring was mentioned, 
and the landlord proposing a route by which we 
might connect a little sporting with it, and his son, a 
fine, intelligent youth, to accompany me, I began to 
feel my chagrin rapidly abating, and slipping on a 
shooting dress, we were shortly in the woods with our 
guns, attended by a pretty good pointer dog. We 
found a few woodcocks and squirrels, but, upon the 
whole, had indifferent success. As to what ive de- 
nominate game, it is by no means abundant in the 
country, except quail, which are generally plentiful. 
Hares and pheasants there are none ; and partridges, 
(in some places called pheasants) are scarce. Wood- 
cock and snipe are uncertain both as to season and 
situation. ^Tis true that great quantities of other 
birds may sometimes be killed ; for instance, ivild 
ducks and pigeons, which are occasionally seen in 
flocks of many miles in extent; but after all, and 
much as I have heard American shooting extolled, in 
my opinion it is a poor, insipid diversion, compared 
with the English, pursued without any kind of system 
or science, and reminding me more of the onsets of 
our mechanics and shopmen, let loose at Christmas 
and on holidays, to range the fields, no matter where, 
and pounce upon all, no matter what, than of any 
thing worthy the name of shooting. Let no English 
sj)ortsman think to better liimself by emigration in 



and Remarks. 1 1 1 

this respect; I'll answer, upon trial, for his total 
disappointment. 

There is not, there cannot be, an individual living 
who holds our game laws in greater abhorrence 
than I do, considering them as barbarous and ab- 
surd as they are wantonly tyrannical and unjust, 
— the very fag end of the old feudal system when 
barons could lord it over their debased vassals at their 
pleasure, and when in the humane diction of the day, 
if one of them " did course or hunt, either casually or 
wilfully a beast of the forest, so that by the swiftness 
of the course, the beast did pant, or was put out 
of breath," he was authorized to flay him alive."^ 
These days, thank Heaven, have passed away, and 
the doctrine of equal rights and equal privileges is 
becoming rather more fashionable — somewhat better 
understood, and I hope yet to live to see this blood- 
thirsty code altogether expunged from a statute book 
it has so long disgraced ; but if I must sport, I con- 
fess I should prefer meeting every unpleasantness 
still attendant upon these odious enactments, and 
shooting at English game, in English style, to going a 
gunning, with the most unbridled license, after the 
American fashion. Perhaps Long Island, and a few 
other parts, might prove some exception to these 
remarks ; but, generally speaking, American shooting 
will be found much of the character I have described 
itf In ranging the woods I was particularly struck 

* Vide " Manwood's Forest Laws." 

f Understand me as speaking of shooting: in the State of New 
York, and with what the Americans call shot guns; in the other 
States, or with the rifle, I know but little of it. 



112 AVON Remarks, 

with their desolate and trackless appearance, as well 
as the death-like silence which reigned around : there 
is nothing- of the delightful harmony so often heard 
in ours, but you might almost fancy yourself the only 
object that had life within them, excepting that you 
are now and then aroused by the hoarse harking of a 
crow, just resembling that of a dog; the screaming of 
the buzzard hawk, or the tapping of the wood-pecker. 
Notwithstanding the infinite variety of American 
birds, (upwards of 130 different kinds have been 
enumerated,) I believe there is only the mocking bird, 
which can imitate nearly all others, that has any note 
to be termed singing. Their plumage, however, far 
surpasses those of Europe, and many of them are, in 
this respect, in the highest degree splendid and beau- 
tiful. I saw not a single snake in my day's ramble, 
or any other venomous reptile. 

We visited the Springs, but there is at present 
merely a single house upon the spot, and nothing 
to interest any one about them, except a person 
desirous of analyzing the waters, or making trial of 
their efficacy; neither of which motives had induced 
my visit. They are said to be strongly impregnated 
with alum and sulphur. The quality of land, &c. 
offered no exception to my yesterday's notice of them. 

For the benefit of future travellers I shall here put 
on record my bill of fare and charges at Avon. There 
are two inns, and I think not more than a dozen other 
houses ; but the one I have to do with is kept by a 
person of the name of Douglas, and stands on the 
left side of the road from Geneseo to Rochester. — It 



BUI of Fare, 5^c. 113 

was about eleven in the morning- when I arrived, and, 
previous to commencin^^ our sporting, I took a slight 
lunch. At a late hour I returned to dinner, which 
was introduced, with many apologies, as being past 
its best, &c. ; but, without particularizing, I wish it 
may never be my lot to sit down to a worse. To this 
I was supplied with a pint of tolerable port wine, 
half of which I might drink; and before retiring I 
took a glass of negus. My lodging, to be sure, was 
not superb, since the house being rather unexpectedly 
filled with company at a late hour, and it being in- 
convenient to accommodate me with a single bedded 
apartment, I preferred my cloak and the parlour 
floor to occupying a room with strangers, according 
to custom here, careless who or what. This morn- 
ing — August 2Sfh — I am just risen from a breakfast 
which, if I say was a good one, is but giving it very 
moderate praise. The whole and entire charge for 
the entertainment from beginning to end, amounts 
to 81 cents, (3s. 4|d. English). Waiter, 0; chamber- 
maid and boots, ditto ; and civility and thanks into 
the bargain. Will this be credited in England ? It 
will be some time before it is practised, at all events. 
We should dub ourselves not a little favoured, after 
such accommodation, sleeping excepted, to be let off 
with five or six times the sum I have paid. 

I must also notice here a very novel contrivance, 
which has attracted my attention, for serving up a re- 
past ; — a sort of cupboard, containing a number of 
shelves, is let down into the kitchen below, the top of 
it fitting and corresponding exactly with the boards of 



114 TO BUFFALO Le Roy. 

the dining-room floor, so that, in that position, you 
cannot distinguish it from any other part. When 
a meal is in a state of readiness to be served, the 
various dishes, &c. are placed upon these shelves, and 
as soon as the freightage is complete, you see the 
whole, put in motion from below, tier after tier, gently 
rising into the apartment, where attendants are in 
readiness to transfer it to the table, upon which it is 
all smoking in the space of a few seconds, subject to 
the equally prompt attacks of its vigorous assailants. 
I was a good deal amused with the performance, 
doubtless a most convenient one, in a country where 
the saving of labour is so great a desideratum, and 
waiters are a class of men liking about as much ease 
and indulgence as their masters. 

From Avon to Buffalo is 67 miles; through Cale- 
donia, 10; Le Roy, 7; Stafford, 4 ; Batavia, 6; Alex- 
ander, 8; Pembroke, 5; Alden, 7 ; Clarence, 10; and 
thence to Buffalo, 10 miles. 

The only places worthy of notice are Le Roy and 
Batavia, the others being more like straggling houses 
by the ivay side, than villages ; a few years, however, 
sometimes do wonders in this country, and I there- 
fore give the names, about all I can do, that I may 
not be accused by the next traveller of overlooking a 
populous and thriving town. 

Le Roy is situated on ^^llan's Creek. It is a very 
pleasant village, and contains a number of good 
houses and stores, and, I should think, nearly 4,000 
inhabitants. The Erie canal runs seventeen miles 
to the north of it, and, in the words of my friend 



hat a via Temperance Societies. 115 

Spafford, it appears to be ''thriving as fast as any 
thing can thrive, which is not on the ' Grand Canawl,' 
towards which every body is looking and running." 

The village of Batavia stands on the north side of 
the Tonnewanta Creek. It is the capital of Genesee 
county, rather larger than Le Roy, containing 4,200 
inhabitants, and it appears a place of considerably 
more business. It is built in very compact style, 
and the stores and private residences have a neat 
and elegant appearance ; many of the latter would 
not disgrace any town or city in the State. There 
are two or three good inns, and the "Holland Com- 
pany"* have an office here. A court-house and its 
attendant jail I may add, of course. 

A little before entering the village, I was pleased 
to observe a pretty extensive brewing establishment, 
which, I was informed, was answering well to the 
proprietors. Great good has been effected in various 
parts of the State, and I believe I may say States, 
though much still remains to be done, by the very 
laudable exertions of what are called Temperance 
Societies, notwithstanding the unmeaning ridicule and 
ill-judged sarcasm which some have been disposed 
to direct towards them. They have been expressly 
formed to correct what had become a serious and 
even alarming national evil and disgrace; more or 
less pervading all ranks, and sapping the moral as 
well as the civil usefulness and respectability of 

* So called from being residents of that countn : they own ex- 
tensive tracts of land in Genesee, and other counties in the State of 
Xew York. 

L 



l\6 TO BUFFALO — -Balavia, S^c. 

thousands, — the too free use of ardent spirits. Since 
they were first established, the consumption of these 
deleterious articles, which, from their extreme cheap- 
ness, are within the reach of almost every one wish- 
ing to purchase them, has been greatly diminished. 
One or two respectable innkeepers have assured me 
that they have found it less by one half, and almost 
in an inverse ratio has the demand for malt liquor 
increased, and I trust there is fair reason to hope 
that this more natural and wholesome beverage, with 
cider and light wines, will so far supersede the use 
of the other as to become the common drink of the 
country. 

Batavia has been further conspicuous as the residence 
of the notorious William Morgan, the great masonic 
apostate, and whose revelation of the secrets of that 
would-be all mystic fraternity not long ago threw the 
whole neighbourhood into a most violent and dis- 
graceful state of excitement, which even yet has not 
wholly subsided. What a theme to distract the 
mind of a rational being, much more to disturb the 
harmony of any portion of an enlightened republic ! 
I heard the relation with sorrow and disgust. 

Between Le Roy and Batavia, and, indeed, as far 
as Alexander, as a fine agricultural district, I much 
admired the face of the country. The land is of 
excellent quality, and appeared to me as well farmed 
as any I have seen in the State, not even excepting 
the beautiful township of Canandaigua. The farm 
houses and outbuildings are generally good, and 
such as bespeak the comfort and respectability of 



Corduroy Road. 1 1 7 

their proprietors. Improved farms are to be pur- 
chased here for rather less than at Canandaigua; 
say, from twenty to thirty doJlars per acre, and the 
prices of most kinds of produce are also a trifle 
lower : wages and other expenses much the same. 

We stopped to dine about two miles to the west 
of Pembroke, at an odd house, answering the two- 
fold purpose of farm-house and hotel, not unfre^ 
quently the case in thinly-populated districts, where 
a very comfortable repast was served up to us, unac- 
companied with that breathless expedition I have 
noticed elsewhere. I had really time to lay my 
knife and fork upon my plate ere every chair had 
started back to its respective situation in the apart- 
ment, — a feat by no means to be lightly spoken of. 

The landlord told me of a good farm for sale near 
this spot, the owner wishing to retire from business. 
The size of it is 250 acres, with a corresponding 
house and outbuildings, well fenced, &c. ; — thought 
it might be bought for twenty dollars per acre. 

On approaching Alden, and westward of that 
place, the country assumed a very different appear- 
ance, being yet but little cultivated, and the road 
wooded on both sides; here and there patches of 
cleared land intervened, sufficient to demonstrate 
the latent fertility of the soil. 

Before arriving at Buffalo, travelling became, in- 
deed, no sinecure, it being our hard destiny to pass 
over what the Americans call a " corduroy road*^ 
than which nothing can be conceived more direfully 
hostile to the comfort of either man or beast, or the 



118 TO BUFFALO CorduToy Road. 

safety of the vehicle. It is, in fact, a road of logs, 
of trees felled on tlie spot, and placed in contact 
with each other from side to side; the genuine cor- 
duroy rib, to be sure ; coarse enough for horse jockey 
taste, however extravagant : but the thing mentioned, 
no farther delineation is needful — the cause is ade- 
quate to any thing, and the effect does no discredit 
to the cause. Poor Peter's pilgrims with their peas 
were well off, by comparison, even when the driver, 
in pure tenderness of heart towards us, condescended 
to limit his speed to two miles per hour; but when 
that speed was accelerated to five and six, why, then, 
good bye to description, and to seats of hmioitr, and 
all other seats; 'twas rather too much for a joke: 
the reader's imagination, if tolerably fertile, will best 
help me out. Finally, however, we escaped with- 
out loss of life or limb, which is saying as much as 
will be received without suspicion, and I gladly wave 
the traveller's license of adding more; — would that 
I could even dismiss the recollection \ 

But after all, sad as the confession, if the road 
is to be passed, I know not how it could be 
otherwise accomplished. The soil of these woods 
has no consistency beyond that of decomposed, or 
half decomposed, vegetable matter, wholly inade- 
quate to sustain the weight of carriages at any time, 
and, in the wet season, mere bog. Still you are 
strangely tempted to think, or, at least, to wish that 
these said logs had some earthly covering or other 
upon them ; but then again, you are told of a newly 
settled country, and the value of labour; the latter. 



BUFFALO. 119 

according to Dr. Smith, a poser for every thing, so 
I may as well hold my tongue, and patiently "endure 
what can't be mended;" — be the name of corduroy, 
however, for ever infamous ! 

The day was fast wearing away when we entered 
the village of Buffalo. It had been remarkably fine, 
and the wind happening to meet, instead of to follow 
us, rendered agreeable what would, otherwise, have 
proved a choking affair indeed. Throughout nearly 
the whole of the way, the log road excepted, when- 
ever we were in motion, there was nothing to be dis- 
cerned in our rear but one dense cloud of dust ; trees, 
houses, and even villages, as soon as we had passed 
them, were lost to our view, and woe betide those who 
chanced on this day to be shaping their course in an 
opposite direction : it would require very familiar ac- 
quaintance to pronounce upon their identity with 
any thing like certainty, when landed at their respec- 
tive destinations. 

We were driven up to a splendid hotel at the south 
end of the village, called the Bujfalo House, kept by 
E. Powell, jun. : it is less than a mile from the Lake, 
which in twenty minutes after my quitting the stage 
I had found my way into, and enjoyed the luxury of a 
moonlight dip in its refreshing waters. On returning 
to the inn I learnt that the last general meal of the day 
had been long ago despatched, and I had, therefore, 
hard fate, to put up with a quiet repast by myself 
In the few instances of my delinquency in this 
way, I have thought my hosts, for the time being, 

l2 



120 BUFFALO Remarls on 

would have been quite as well pleased had I omitted 
to give them so much additional trouble. 

I amused myself for some time afterwards in a 
reading-room belonging to the establishment, and on 
retiring was shown into an apartment which for neat- 
ness, and even elegance, I have not seen surpassed on 
my route, only equalled at Auburn. 

August 29ih. — After such fair promise it is almost 
needless to say that I have arisen this morning free 
from a vermin visUation, or other nightly annoyance; 
and, as if by contrast to the solitude attendant upon 
my last evening's meal, have breakfasted with some 
thirty or forty sitting down to the table, and mine 
host and hostess presiding. 

By this time I have seen something more of the 
routine of affairs at inns, &c., than at the close of 
my first day's stage travelling, which has but tended 
to confirm the observations I was then about to 
have made. They are not the comfortable, do-as- 
you-like public or private sort of places which the 
English hotels are ; and though the fare may be 
quite as good, oftentimes in greater profusion, few 
Englishmen, with the system pursued, would re- 
lish it half so well. — Suppose a roomy bar, as here- 
tofore described, full of strangers, and residents of the 
town, who half live at the hotels, standing about, ten 
minutes before dinner, as impatient as a throng at a 
theatre, until the ringing of a bell announces the re- 
past ready to be pounced upon. Forthwith one 
simultaneous rush takes place to the dining, or general, 
or only eating room, and each, as near as may be. 



Proceedings at Inns. 121 

seating himself in the vicinity of his favourite dish, 
the dire attack commences. A novice would be apt 
to conclude that all had a heavy bet depending upon 
the quantity devoured in a given space of time ; 
'tis an affair in which each one is concerned exclu- 
sively for himself, carving, or cutting, and cramming 
down whatever he pleases, leaving his neighbour at 
liberty to do the same, or to do nothing at all, — all 
alike to him, — except, as I am pleased to do the Ame- 
ricans the justice to say upon these, as all other occa- 
sions, the utmost deference and most respectful atten- 
tion is ever paid to the ladies. But few words, per 
haps, are spoken by the whole company ; as each 
individual clears, or rather dismisses his jDlate, for it is 
rarely half cleared, " another, and another, and an- 
other" succeeds, until he has gone the whole round of 
soup, fish, flesh, pudding, pastry, and dessert, — all fre- 
quently upon the table together, — and brought the 
performance to a close ; which is no sooner effected 
than up he starts, as if some contagion were spreading 
round the table, or there were a greater merit in bolt- 
ing than in properly masticating a meal ; in devour- 
ing with precipitancy than in eating with decent 
deliberation ; and, hurrying off to the bar, addresses 
himself to smoking, chewing, &c. — spitting every where, 
of course, with most perfect freedom : — who would suf- 
fer restraint in a land of liberty ! In the intervals 
between meals there is usually as much taken in the 
way of drams, tossed down with equal expedition, as 
would serve an Englishman, at his meals, twice over. 
The difference is, that the one enjoys it, relishes it ; 



122 BUFFALO Remarks, ^c. 

tlie other takes it because it is habitual to him ; and, 
without a moment's reflection in any way about it, is 
satisfied, for the lime, if the act be only performed. I 
do not give this merely as a specimen of coach travel- 
ling; there haste and helter-skelter are often unavoid- 
able ; but I consider it a fair outline of these proceed- 
ings at hotels, in any part of the country where I have 
been, as much upon one occasion as another. At 
private houses, and in good society, there is no want 
of courtesy, and the most genuine good-breeding and 
hospitality ; but even here I think T have noticed a 
system of despatch neither necessary nor quite agree- 
able ; a confusing and intermixing of courses, &c., for 
instance; ever understanding that it is heresy itself 
not to vanish with the cloth, and what to an English- 
man would very much give the idea of hurrying over 
a meal to start a journey. 

Let no one charge me with advocating any of those 
after-dinner excesses so common with us; none can 
more despise and condemn them; but some pause, at 
least, before retiring, and a friendly glass or two, if 
you will, I must think not only a social and agree- 
able, but a decent and proper custom, I can see no 
reasonable objection to it. The plea of the abuse of 
any practice is but a poor argument to constrain us 
to forego its 2ise or propriety, neither of which appear 
to me unconnected with this. For myself, however, 
T shall retain my prejudices, let others think as they 
will. — I may be asked whether at an hotel a gentle- 
man would not be furnished with a private room and 
table, if he desired it ? With the first no doubt he 



BUFFALO. 123 

might; but as to the latter, if it were not refused 
altogether, it would be esteemed a most out-of-the- 
way request, and in all probability be made so un- 
pleasant to him that he would be most easy, in a 
short time, to dispense with it, and take his chance, 
pell-mell, with the rest. 

What is done with the parlours, I know not. At 
every good inn there are mostly several, and those on 
the first floor are to be seen carpeted, about half fur- 
nished, the door standing wide open, and no one in 
them. The drawing-rooms above are often elegant, 
and these I have occasionally seen occupied, but more 
commonly empty. As to lodging, when not intruded 
upon by company of one sort or other, it is all that 
can be wished :— you are generally waited upon by 
black servants, who are civil and attentive, and expect 
not money, hni fair ivords. 

But to speak of Buffalo, — upon my first view of 
which, after the route I had pursued to it, I was filled 
with admiration and astonishment ; and could I for a 
moment have suffered myself to lose all recollection 
of the canal, and retain only the idea of its land ap- 
proach, I should have been almost tempted to believe 
that such an appearance as it presents, at the termina- 
tion of a forest, had been rather produced by magic 
or supernatural than by human means. In point of 
size it only yields to New York, Brooklyn, Albany, 
Utica, and Rochester, and how long any of these 
places, but the two first, may be able to boast even 
such superiority, is, in my opinion, a matter of great 
uncertainty. The situation of Buffalo, however con- 



124 BUFFALO. 

sidered, is commanding and important beyond most. 
Standing at the foot of Lake Erie — now connected 
with Lake Ontario by the Well and Canal — it has a 
direct communication with theCanadas; is open to 
the mighty lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior, and 
an almost limitless extent of western continent ; and, 
on the other hand, at the head of what is justly termed 
the Grand Canal, it is equally connected with the 
Hudson River, New York, as well as all intermediate 
places, the Eastern States, and, in fine, with the 
shores of the Atlantic. It is, as it were, the rallying 
point for the agricultural produce of the west, and 
the migratory population, the commerce and manu- 
factures of the east, the connecting link of the varied 
interests of a great portion of this vast empire, and 
embracing within itself most of the advantages which, 
separately, may attach both to inland towns and sea- 
ports, but which are rarely united as in Buffalo. 
Spafford, alluding to Rochester, has well, if I mistake 
not, portrayed the future prospects and destiny of 
this place:— *' Looking forward," says he, "a few 
centuries, or half centuries, weighing all the balances 
of probabilities, the changes likely to be produced by 
steam navigation, by canals, and the march of popu- 
lation, and capital, and business westward, — not to 
Florida and the shores of the Mexican Gulf, but to 
the shores of the o^reat lakes of the west, extendintr a 
line of navigation through Michigan to the Missis- 
sippi, and pushing it through the Missouri, and across 
the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, — I see a 
line of perspective so extended, so wide-spread in the 



BUFFALO, 125 

sphere of" its action, that it seems boundless, almost 
as the fields of imagination into which the contem- 
plation conducts me." 

Leaving general for particular; — Buffalo stands on 
a fine plain at the mouth of the Buffalo Creek, an 
outlet of Lake Erie, and at the head of the Niagara 
river. The canal commences near this outlet, and 
from it lateral canals are cut in various directions, 
upon which numerous and extensive stores and ware- 
houses are already erected, and many more in pro- 
gress. Like Canandaigua, it consists principally of 
one fine broad street, called Main-street, having be- 
sides three public squares; and much that I have 
observed of the character and appearance of the 
buildings, public and private, there, and at Rochester, 
may apply to Buffalo. I think there are fewer erec- 
tions of wood than at either of those places, whilst 
they are equally spacious and elegant. It has two 
handsome churches, and a court-house, built in very 
good style, an academy, of which report speaks 
highly, and where there are 100 students; witli 
printing esta1)lishments, libraries, public baths, &c.; 
and in the bar of the inn I am at, and at that inn, 
I see the play of "Is he Jealous P'^ advertised for 
performance to-morrow evening ; — so soon the refine- 
ments, luxuries, and dissipations of life succeed to its 
comforts and conveniences. The present population 
amounts to more than 6,000. — And this is the Buffalo 
which has arisen from that Buffalo, the British with 
the horrid brand of war reduced to ashes, leaving 
but one house standing, in 1814 '.—-Never may that 



l26 BUFFALO JErie Canal. 

execrable, that self-inflicted scourge of the human 
race, with all its long train of evils and calamities, 
revisit its borders more, but, with the blessings of 
peace, and the industry and enterprise of her sons, 
may Buffalo become all that they can desire, or I 
anticipate— a great and highly distinguished com- 
mercial town, the honour and ornament of their 
august republic ! 

Being here, as stated, at the fountain'head of that 
splendid national work, the Erie canal, to which I 
have so frequently alluded, the following notice will 
not perhaps be deemed uninteresting: — 

" This magnificent structure," says the writer, 
" was commenced under the patronage of the State, 
on the 4Lh of July, 1817, and was completed in 1825, 
uniting the waters of the Erie and Hudson, at an 
expense of less than seven millions of dollars, a sum 
trivial in comparison with the immense advantage 
derived to the State from such communication. The 
canal, beginning at Albany on the Hudson, passes 
up the west bank of that river nearly to the mouth 
of the Mohawk ; thence along the bank of the Mo- 
hawk to Schenectady, crossing the river twice by two 
aqueducts. From Schenectady it follows the south 
bank of the Mohawk until it reaches Rome. In 
some places it encroaches so near as to require 
embankments made up from the river to support it. 
An embankment of this description, at Amsterdam 
village, is five or six miles in extent. What is called 
the long level, being a distance of 69| miles, with- 
out an intervening lock, commences in the town of 



BUFFALO Erie Canal. 127 

Frankfort, about eight miles east of Utica, and ter- 
minates three-fourths of a mile east from Syracuse; 
from thence the route proceeds thirty- five miles to 
Montezuma, situated on the east border of the Cayuga 
marshes, three miles in extent, over which to the 
great embankment, seventy-two feet in height, and 
near two miles in length, is a distance of fifty-two 
miles; thence eight and a half miles to the com- 
mencement of the Genesee level, extending westward 
to Lockport, nearly parallel with the jidge road, 
sixty-five miles. Seven miles from thence, to Pen- 
dleton village, the canal enters Tonnewanta Creek, 
which it follows twelve miles, and thence following" 
the east side of the Niagara river, communicates 
with Lake Erie at Buffalo. The whole line of the 
canal, from Albany to Buffalo, is 363 miles in length. 
It is forty feet wide at the top, and twenty-eight feet 
wide at the bottom. The water flows at the depth 
of four feet in a moderate descent of half an inch in 
a mile. The tow-path is elevated about four feet 
from the surface of the water, and is ten feet wide. 
The whole length of the canal includes eighty-three 
locks and eighteen aqueducts of various extent. 
The locks are constructed in the most durable man- 
ner of stone laid in water lime, and are ninety feet in 
length and fifteen feet in width. The whole rise and 
fall of lockage is 688 feet; and the height of Lake 
Erie, above the Hudson, 568 feet. The principal 
aqueducts are, one crossing the Genesee river at 
Rochester, 804 feet in length ; one crossing the Mo- 
hawk at Little Falls, supported by three arches, the 



128 BUFFALO Erie Canal. 

centre of seventy feet, and those on each side of fifty 
feet chord ; and two crossing the Mohawk river near 
Alexander's bridge, one of which is 748 feet, and the 
other 1188 feet in length. The whole workmanship 
evinces a degree of beauty and proportion consistent 
with the greatest strength. In many places the sides 
of the canal are either paved with small stone, or 
covered with thick grass, designed to prevent the 
crumbling of the soil by the motion of the water. 
To the main canal are a number of side cuts or 
lateral canals: one opposite Troy, connecting with 
the Hudson ; one at Syracuse, a mile and a half in 
length, to Salina; one from Syracuse to Oswego, 
thirty-eight n: iles in length ; one at Orville ; one at 
Chitteningo; one at Montezuma, extending to the 
Cayuga lake, five miles, and from thence to the 
Seneca lake at Geneva, a distance of fifteen miles ; 
and one at Rochester of two miles in length, which 
serves the double purpose of a navigable feeder, and 
a mean of communication for boats between the 
canal and the Genesee river. It is highly probable 
that these lateral cuts will increase in ratio with the 
enterprise of the numerous adjacent villages scattered 
alonof the line of the main canal. From these and 
various other improvements, which public enterprise 
has already suggested, the State of New York is des- 
tined to reap a full harvest of prosperity. If her 
national glory has already dawned with so much 
lustre, what will be its meridian splendour, when 
her magnificent improvements, uniting with her own 
the navijfable waters of her sister States, shall serve 



BUFFALO Erie Canal. 129 

as so many ligaments to bind the confederacy in the 
indissoluble bonds of friendship and interest?" 

" The debt contracted for the Champlain and Erie 
canals amounted, on the 1st of January, 1826, to 
9,108,269 dollars, including 1,621,274 dollars ex- 
pended in the construction of feeders, lateral canals, 
dams, &c., and in the payment of salaries of the 
commissioners and other officers engaged in the 
work. The revenue from the tolls of both canals, 
in 1822, amounted to 64,071 dollars; in 1823, to 
151,099 dollars; in 1824, to 289,320 dollars; in 1825, 
to 500,000 dollars; in 1826, to 675,190 dollars; in 
1827, to 859,058 dollars; and in 1828, to 883,000 dol- 
lars. On the 1st of January, 1830, the canal debt, 
including the expenses of constructing the Oswego, 
Cayuga, and Seneca canals, and exclusive of the 
extinguishments which had been made, amounted to 
7,706,013 dollars; and the tolls received for the 
preceding year, to the sum of 816,302 dollars, — 
the Oswego and Seneca canals not having furnished 
a revenue equal to the interest of their cost and the 
expense of their repairs. To the payment of the 
interest and principal of the canal debt, is appro- 
priated not only the tolls, but also the duties on 
salt and auctions, with other sources of income, 
which amounted, in 1829, to 377,677 dollars, making 
the total receipts of that year, including tolls, 
1,193,979 dollars." 

The day has been overcast, temperature agreeable, 
and closes with rain. 



130 BUFFALO -Seneca Ueservatlon. 

August SOIL— 

"The morn is up again, the dewy morn, 
With breath all incense, and vrith cheek all bloom ; 
Laughing the clouds away with playful scorn, 
And living as if earth contained no tomb." 

Swimming in Lake Erie at five o'clock. — 
I was diverted in passing along Main-street at ob- 
serving the extreme singularity of the names over 
the shop doors, &c. ; a circumstance, indeed, I have 
often noticed elsewhere; and, in addition, you will 
mostly see portrayed upon a sign suspended over, 
or at the side of the door, some touch of the pro- 
fession practised within ; for instance, at a doctors, I 
saw a mortar and pestle ; at a bookseller's, two large 
folio volumes; at a Miss Jeremiah's, a most exqui- 
sitely trimmed bonnet; and at o, fancy dyers, a board, 
upon which was announced the character of their 
establishment, had every letter painted with different 
coloured paint ; — so much for customs. 

Near Buffalo there is a reservation of the Seneca 
Indians; but their numbers do not now amount to 
more than a few hundreds, and even these are an- 
nually diminishing, and retain hut little of their ori- 
ginal character, habits, and customs; a few years, 
comparatively, will sweep this race of inhabitants 
altogether from the face of this wide continent, of 
which they were onc»3 the sole and undisputed pos- 
sessors ; and I leave it to the philosopher, the moral- 
ist, the philanthropist, the Christian to say, whether, 
if the good of mankind, and not the mere aggran- 
dizement of territory, had led to their extirpation — 
for whatever virtues or brilliancy of character they 



DEPARTURE FOR NIAGARA. 131 

might possess in some respects, they were the mere 
children of the forest, averse to all but the savage 
and uncivilized states of life — looking upon America 
now, and comparing her with what she then was, and 
under such a people ever would have been, whether, 
in all the varied, vast, and important advantages 
which have followed their subjugation, the result 
ivould not have justified the act P As it is, we can 
only say that the result has been greatly glorious — 
would that we could add, the means and the motives 
were as greatly good ! 

And now, having lingered a whole day at Buffalo, 
only twenty-two miles from Niagara, and within the 
sound of that mighty cataract,* I felt this morn- 
ing an overpowering excitement in anticipating 
the august spectacle which, in a few hours, would 
be presented to my view. Every description I had 
heard or read, and every conception I had formed 
of that stupenduous work of nature, was this day to 
be disappointed or realized. I was to behold a 
scene which is pronounced by all who have wit- 
nessed it, to stand unrivalled in any country, and 
to be able to answer in the affirmative that first and 
all-important interrogatory which meets a stranger 
on returning from the western world, " Have you seen 
J^Tiagara ?'* Such were the impressions with which I 

* In reference to the distance at which the falls are audible, Dr. 
SpafFord observes, " The sound is heard at various distances; ex- 
tending five, eight, ten, twenty, and even thirty miles, when wafted 
by a gentle breeze. I have once heard it thirty miles in a direct 
line ; and I think that in 1797 I approached within five miles, with- 
ovit hearing any of that roar, which soon became tremendous from 
a change of wind." 

M 2 



132 



TO NIAGARA. 



recommenced this most interesting portion of my 
journey. And here let me remark, that, in attempt- 
ing to convey to others, who do not happen to have 
been as much favoured as myself, not an idea of the 
scene — that were impossible — but something of the 
feelings with which I surveyed it; and considering 
the limited interval arrangements allowed me for 
observation, I shall not fastidiously and wholly re- 
ject the sentiments of those who have preceded me, 
when I consider them strikingly appropriate, or so 
nearly resembling my own, that I might either appear, 
however unintentionally, to have availed myself of, or 
studiously evaded them, to be, perhaps, less pointed 
and accurate ; — with this acknowledgement, then, I 
proceed. 

I have before said that the Niagara river, which 
forms the communication of Lake Erie with Lake 
Ontario, commences at Buffalo, receiving into it not 
only the waters of Lake Erie, but those of Huron, 
Michigan, and Superior, well denominated the inland 
seas of the tvest* The elevation of Lake Erie above 

* " Lake Huron is 218 miles from east to west, and 180 broad. 

" Michigan is 300 miles long and 50 wide. 

" Superior, the most westerly, is 459 miles long, and about 109 
wide. About forty small and three large rivers enter this lake, on 
one of which, just before its entrance, are perpendicular falls of 
more than 600 feet. The water of the lake is remarkably transpa- 
rent, so much so, that a canoe over the depth of six fathoms seems 
rather suspended in air than resting on the water. 

" Lake Erie is on the boundary line between the United States 
and Upper Canada. It is 'i90 miles long from south-west to north- 
east, and in the widest part 63 broad. 

Lake Ontario, nearly half in the State of New York, " is in length 
171 miles, and in cnxumference 467. In the middle, a line of 350 
fathoms has been let down without finding a bottom." 



TO NIAGARA. 133 

that of Ontario is upwards of 330 feet. The river is 
about thirty-five miles long, and from half a mile to 
six or seven in width, and nearly equidistant from 
each lake is crossed by a branch of the Alleghany 
mountains, which intersect almost the whole con- 
tinent of America, and to which circumstance we 
are indebted for the falls of Niagara. From Buffalo, 
the approach may be made either on the American 
or Canadian side of the river. I preferred the latter, 
and getting into a stage about eight o'clock, was 
conveyed three miles to Black Rock, a small, but 
increasing village on the east bank of the river, and 
upon the line of the canal ; like Buffalo destroyed by 
the British in 1814. The river here is about a mile 
in width, running with a very moderate current, and 
twenty-five feet deep. Over this we were ferried in 
a boat, with paddles worked by horses. On the 
Canada side, just as you land, are a few houses, 
christened "Waterloo,* very near the site of old 
Fort Erie,f the scene of desperate engagements be- 

* As if one must be reminded, wherever one goes, of that bloody 
struggle for the suppression of one tyrant, that five or six might 
form a vile league, which, with horrid blasphemy, they dared to de- 
signate ^^holy,^^ against all that was dear and sacred to man. But, 
" every dog has its day," and they, thank Heaven ! have had theirs, 
and are fallen and falling, amidst the scorn and execration of" free 
millions." — So perish all and every thing opposing the cause of civil 
and religious liberty, on its broadest basis, the world over ! 

f " Fort Erie was rendered memorable as the theatre of several 
severe engagements during the last war. The last and most deci 
sive battle fought at this place was on the night of the 15th of Au 
gust, 1814. The fort was occupied by the Americans, and its pos 
session was considered an object of importance to the British. 
Taking advantage of the darkness of the night, they made repeated 
and furious assaults, and were as often repulsed j until, at length, 
they succeeded by superior force in gaining a bastion. After main- 



1 34 TO NIAGARA. 

Iween the Americans and the British, during the last 
war, as was, in fact, nearly the whole extent of the 
river from lake to lake. 

Continuing along the banks of the stream, we 
shortly came opposite Grand Island, which is twelve 
miles long, and from two to seven broad, and was 
ceded to the State of New York by the Seneca 
Indians in 1815. We were about twelve miles dis- 
tant, when looking in the direction of the falls, I 
saw the spray, which I at first mistook for smoke, 
rising in columns to a very considerable height, and 
the whole horizon around skirted with light clouds ; 
I also began to hear the sound of them very dis- 
tinctly. Besides Grand Island, the river contains a 
number of other small islands,* and independent of 
the influence of that excitement by which, at every 
progressive step, the mind and feelings become more 
deeply aroused, the ride itself, the whole distance, 
is one of singular beauty and interest. Until we 
reached Chippewa,f the stream had been gliding 

taining it for a short time, at the expense of many lives, accident 
placed it again in the hands of the Americans. Several cartridges 
which had been placed in a stone building adjoining exploded, pro- 
ducing tremendous slaughter and death among the British. They 
soon retreated, leaving on the field 221 killed, among whom were 
Cols. Scott and Drummond, 174 wounded, and 186 prisoners. The 
American loss was 17 killed, 56 woimded, and 11 missing. This 
action was followed by a splendid sortie, near the Fort, on the 17th 
of the following month, which resulted in a loss to the British of 
nearly 1000, including 385 prisoners, and to the Americans of 511 
killed, wounded, and missing." 

* The largest of these is Geneva Island, about a mile long, and 
nearly the same in width. It belongs to the British. 

f " The battle of Chippewa was fought fon the 5th of July, 1814, 
and has been described as one of the most brilliant spectacles that 



TO NIAGARA. 135 

along witli a smoothness which left you wholly un- 
prepared for the ruffled and tumultuous scene it was 

could be well conceived. The day was clear and bright, and the 
plain such as might have been selected for a parade or a tourna- 
ment ; the troops on both sides, though not numerous, admirably 
disciplined j the generals leading on their columns in person j the 
glitter of the arms in the sun, and the precision and distinctness of 
every movement, were all calculated to carry the mind back to the 
scenes of ancient story or poetry, to the plains of Latium or of Troy, 
and all those recollections which fill the imagination with images 
of personal heroism and romantic valour. 

" After some skirmishing, the British Indians were discovered in the 
rear of the American camp. Gen. Porter, with his volunteers and 
Indians, were directed to scour in the adjoining forest. This force 
had nearly debouched from the woods opposite Chippewa, when it 
was ascertained that the whole British force, under Gen. Riall, had 
crossed the Chippewa- bridge. Gen. Brown gave immediate orders 
to Gen. Scott to advance with his brigade, and to Gen. Ripley to be 
in readiness to support. In a few minutes the British line was dis- 
covered formed and rapidly advancing, their right on the woods, 
and their left on the river. Their object was to gain the bridge 
across a small creek in front of the American encampment, which, 
if done, would have compelled the Americans to retire. This bridge, 
however, was soon gained by Gen. Scott, and crossed, under a tre- 
mendous fire of British artillery, and his line formed. The British 
orders were to give one volley at a distance and immediately charge. 
But such was the warmth of the American mvisketry that they 
could not withstand it, and were obliged to retreat before the ap- 
pearance of Ripley's brigade, which had been directed to make a 
movement through the woods upon the enemy's right flank. The 
British recrossed the Chippewa bridge, which they broke down in 
their retreat, having suffered a loss in killed and missing of 514. 
The American loss was 328." 

*' One mile farther is Lundy''s Lane, celebrated as the ground on 
which an important battle was fought, twenty days after the battle 
of Chippewa. The scene of action was near the mighty cataract of 
Niagara, and within the sound of its thunders, and was, in propor- 
tion to the number engaged, the most sanguinary, and decidedly 
the best fought action which ever took place on the American con- 
tinent. The following letter, written by a surgeon of one of the 
(American) regiments, the day after the engagement, contains 
many interesting particulars : — 

' In the afternoon the enemy advanced towards Chippewa with 



136 TO NIAGARA. 

SO soon to present ; but " here," in the words of ati 
eminent traveller, "the grand spectacle begins" — 

a powerful force. At six o'clock Gen. Scott was ordered to advance 
with ills brigade and attack them. He was soon reinforced by Gen. 
Ripley's brigade ; they met the enemy below the falls. They had 
selected their ground for the night, intending to attack our camp 
before daylight. The action began just before seven, and an unin- 
terrupted stream of musketry continued till half-past eight, when 
there was some cessation, the British falling back. It soon began 
again with some artillery, which, with slight interruptions, continued 
till half-past ten, when there was a charge, and a tremendous stream 
of fire closed the conflict. Both armies fought with a desperation 
bordering on madness ; neither would yield the palm, but each re- 
tired a short distance, wearied out with fatigue. Such a constant 
and destructive fire was never before sustained by American troops 
without falling back. 

* The enemy had collected their whole force in the peninsula, 
and were reinforced by troops from Lord Wellington's army, just 
landed from Kingston. For two hours the two hostile lines were 
within twenty yards of each other, and so frequently intermingled 
that often an officer would order an enemy's platoon. The moon 
shone bright; but part of our men being dressed like the Glenga- 
rian regiment caused the deception. They frequently charged, and 
were as often driven back. Our regiment, under Col. Miller, was 
ordered to storm the British battery. We charged, and took every 
piece of the enemy's cannon. We kept possession of the ground 
and cannon until twelve o'clock at night, when we fell back more 
than two miles. This was done to secure our camp, which might 
otherwise have been attacked in the rear. Our horses being most 
of them killed, and there being no ropes to the pieces, we got off but 
two or three. The men were so excessively fatigued they could not 
drag them. We lost one howitzer ; the horses being in full gallop 
towards the enemy to attack them, the riders were shot off', and the 
horses ran through the enemy's line. We lost one piece of cannon^ 
which was too much advanced, every man being shot that had 
charge of it, but two. Several of ovir caissons were blown up by 
their rockets, which did some injury, and deprived our cannon of 
ammunition. The lines were so near that camion could not be used 
with rdvantage. 

' The British loss in killed and wounded and prisoners was 878, 
and the American loss 860 ' 

" The road to the falls ])asses directly over the hill where the Bri- 
tish artillery were posted at the time Scott's brigade commenced 



NIAGARA. 137 

here the rapids^ commence; and leaving stages and 
such like material vehicles, let us suffer ourselves 
for a short time, in fancy's airy car, to follow the 
impetuous current. There is a gradual expanding- 
of the river from Waterloo to this place, and here 
it attains the width of nearly two miles; but on a 
sudden it is narrowed, and its rapidity is redoubled 
by the declivity of the ground on which it flows, 
estimated by some at sixty, by others at ninety feet, 
as well as by the sudden contraction of its bed. 
The channel is rocky, and the interspersed fragments 
of rock increase the violence of the stream. As it 
proceeds, it becomes more closely hemmed in by 
rocks on the right encroaching upon its channel, 
and sweeps along with prodigious velocity. Before 

the action ; and the houses in the village of Bridgewater, the trees 
and fences in the vicinity, still retain marks of the combat. Many 
graves are seen upon the hill ; among others that of Capt. Hull, 
son of the late Gen. Hull, who distinguished himself and fell in this 
action. Most of the slain were collected and burned upon the 
battle ground ; on which spot it is in contemplation to erect a church.'* 
— [A pretty sort of ground for a reverend Christian to consecrate !'\ 

* An American term for a broken and rapid current. 

" Falling into the current, within a mile of the falls, is considered 
fatal- Several accidents of this kind have happened, and only one per 
son has ever been known to reach the shore. Many bodies have been 
found below the falls ; those that have fallen in the ceutre of the 
stream, without any external marks of injury ; and those that have 
fallen near the shore, much lacerated and disfigured. The latter 
has probably been occasioned by coming in contact with the rocks 
in shallow water, before reaching the cataract. A few years since 
an Indian, partially intoxicated, in attempting to cross the river 
near Chippewa, was forced near the rapids, when finding all his 
efforts to regain the shore unavailing, he laid down in his canoe, 
and was soon plunged into the trtmendous vortex below. He was 
never seen afterwards." 



138 NIAGARA. 

arriving- at the great pitch it is intersected by two 
small island Sj namely, Bath and Goat Island, which 
divide the current into two arms, thus creating a 
fall both on the American and Canadian sides ; "and 
resting on their rocky basis, seem, as it were, to 
swim between the streams, which here rush down at 
once into the dread chasm below."* The main, or 
Horse Shoe Fall, is on the Canada side; its circum- 
ference is estimated at 600 or 700 yards, and its 
height at 158 feet. The sheet in falling does not 
pitch immediately downward, but, as may be in- 
ferred from its rapid motion, it advances about fifty 
feet from the perpendicular of the cataract, and de- 
scends in the form of a curve. 

To describe my sensations when from the Terrapin 
Rocks the mighty scene opened upon me, is utterly 
beyond my power ;^ — many another has had to make 
a like confession, and as a talented and intelligent 
writer, whom I have repeatedly quoted, remarks,—" The 
immense volume of water that forms a river of a mile 
wide can only be conceived by those who have seen large 
rivers, and have indulged in some habitual reflection. 
I had (says he) enjoyed these advantages, and had 
read many good descriptions of Niagara Falls, before 
I had an opportunity to consult the impressions 
derived from personal observation, and still the scene 
was altogether new to me when I stood, and gazed, 
and wondered at the sight: — a broad, rapid river 
poured at once down a precipice of more than 150 

* " Dr. D wight has estimated that more than one hundred mil- 
lions of tons of water pass over the falls every hour." 



NIAGARA. 139 

feet into &n awful chasm of about three-quarters of a 
mile wide, and near 300 feet deep, reckoning from 
the surface of the river bank ! The first effect of this 
sight is absolutely indescribable. My head became 
giddy, and it seemed to me that every nerve was 
affected in the same way with those of the head : nor 
was it till after some minutes that I dare crawl to the 
brink of the precipice to take a nearer view." 

The Terrapin Rocks are approached by a rudely- 
constructed bridge from Goat Island. They extend 
about 300 feet from the shore to the Horse Shoe Fall, 
and, at their farthest verge, absolutely overhang the 
vast abyss into which the torrent rolls with all its 
thrilling and majestic grandeur. 

" No one," says another, " can witness this at first 
without involuntary shrinking back." He must allow, 
however, of one exception : I had noticed the remark, 
and to give every possible efiect to the scene which I 
was about to survey, when I advanced upon the bridge, 
I closed my eyes, and, as far as I could, kej^t them 
in that state until I found myself as it were suspended 
over the cataract. 

I confess the impression was awful, but to me, if I 
may so say, it was awfully enchunting; my excitement 
was raised to a pitch which seemed to dispel the idea 
of danger, and I verily believe if, at that moment, I 
had known it to be imminent, I should have retreated 
from the position with some hesitation and reluctance. 
I was dumb with high and enthralling amazement. 

" There was a mass of many images 
Crowded like waves upon me." 

*-Thc tablet of unutterable thoughts was traced," 
N 



140 NIAGARA. 

My feelings asked for words, and in the same in- 
stant mocked the power of language. I felt the weak- 
ness — the littleness — the nothingness of man, and 
the immensity of that Being whose almighty fiat had 
called into existence the magnificent scenes which 
surrounded me, and poured along the cataract which 
foamed and thundered at my feet. I was as if com- 
mingled with the very elements — living in the tumult : 
the world seemed annihilated and dead: every faculty 
and power of the soul was taken captive — riveted to 
this spot. The creations of fancy had fled away ; 
imagination was beggared by reality; and I felt at 
once that Niagara — the mighty Niagara ! — was all, 
and more than all, it had ever been represented to be 
— what no pencil could paint, or pen portray — great 
beyond every conception of grandeur — sublime be- 
yond all idea of sublimity ! 

How long I continued in this reverie of rapture I 
know not; 'twas too overpowering for endurance. 
The spell was at length broken : I was recalled to the 
vapidness of life, and, like one just aroused from a 
trance, retraced my steps to the shore; but the im- 
pression remains fixed, and permanent, and vivid, as 
when stamped upon the mind, and when I lose the 
recollection of that hour, and that scene, time must 
have drawn its veil over all that I would cherish, and 
thought and memory become extinct : — I must cease 
to live. 

The reader will forgive me this digression — rhap- 
sody, or whatsoever he is pleased to term it : the feel- 
ings of the moment were ardent and irresistible, in- 



NIAGARA. 141 

spired by the majesty of the scene: they can never 
recur again but upon a like occasion — at the same 
spot. 

We will now commence on the Canada side, and 
make the entire circuit. 

My first point of observation was upon the Table 
Rock,* a little lower down the river bank than the 
great fall, and although the view from this is indeed 
superlatively grand, it did not, in my mind, produce 
all those overpowering emotions which I experienced 
in the situation alluded to, and I surveyed the parti- 
cular features of the scene perhaps with more atten- 
tion. 

Viewed from the point, this falling sheet sometimes 
resembled an immense avalanche of snow, as during 
its descent amongst the rocks of the rapids it acquires 
a foaming whiteness before it reaches the great pitch, 
but much depends upon the position of the sun, the 
state of the atmosphere, force of the wind, &c. Its 
colour was occasionally a dark green, and not un- 
frequently it exhibited every brilliance of hue and 
shade that can be imagined. The surface below 
presented the wildest confusion : the water, after its 

" * A large crack in the Table Rock, which has increased annually 
for some years, renders it very certain that a considerable propor- 
tion will ere long fall into the abyss below. The part thus cracked 
is nearly fifty feet in width, and might be blasted off without diflS- 
culty. The height of the rock has been ascertained to be 163 feet.'* 

It is highly disgraceful to those who have the power to remove it 
to suffer this rock to remain in its present state. It may fall any 
moment — it must fall before long, and whenever it does, it will be 
remarkable if lives are not sacrificed. Is there no one who will 
interfere to prevent it? 



142 NIAGARA. 

descent^ partly rising again in thick columns of mist, 
towering above the falls, and mixing with the clouds; 
thus producing — for the sun was bright throughout 
the day — perpetual and most splendid rainbows ; the 
remainder breaking upon the masses of rock, in the bed 
of the river, filled the whole chasm with spray, and 
which, the wind meeting me on my approach, I per- 
ceived, like small rain, at a considerable distance off. 
From the Table Rock I next passed under the fall. 
The descent is by means of a spiral stair- way which 
is inclosed, and on arriving at the bottom of which 
I had to doff every vestige of clothing, and was fur- 
nished by the guide, who was about to accompany me, 
with a waterproof garment in lieu of it : the necessity 
of this exchange I full soon discovered, being com- 
pletely enveloped in a cloud of spray. The path is a 
very rugged one, under awfully overhanging rocks 
and as we approached nearer and nearer, the roar, 
the tumult, and the agitation which encompassed us 
" around, above, below," was appallingly, grandly 
terrific. The violence and density of the spray, too, 
increased at every step, so that we were obliged to 
carry our heads down to respire at all ; and in one 
part, where there is a considerable projection, it was 
driven against us with such almost incredible vehe- 
mence that it required no trifling effort to keep on our 
feet. I can compare it to nothing better than the 
most violent of thunder rain, which, instead of falling 
vertically, is propelled horizontally, with the fury of 
a tornado. The walking, too, is rendered more diffi- 
cult by the number of small eels, which are twisting 



NIAGARA. 143 

about under your feet in all directions. At length, 
however, staggering and stumbling on, we reached 
what is called Termination Rock, 153 feet from the 
commencement of the volume of water, and beyond 
which there is no proceeding, the descent being nearly 
perpendicular. Few, I believe, evince any inclination 
to explore thus far, though tales are told of persons 
taking a meal underneath, and so on; which, for the 
mere say-so, certainly might be done, as any one, if 
so disposed, might treat himself to dinner in a shower- 
bath, nor fear having to complain of a dry morsel; 
but be assured the inconvenience of such a ceremony 
under the Falls of Niagara would, if possible, be an 
hundred-fold greater. After remaining some time 
seated on the farthest projection of rock, contemplating 
the wildly majestic and novel character of the scene 
around, T returned to the stair-way, and on reaching the 
little building which has been erected at the lop of it, 
and casting oft' my drenched surtout, I was presented by 
my guide with a printed form of certificate, in testimony 
of the performance, in the following words : To wit, — 
" This may certify that Mr. John Fowler has passed 
with me behind the Great Falling Sheet, under the 
Falls of Niagara, to ' Termination Rock.' Given 
under my hand, at the office of the General Register 
of Visitors, at the Table Rock, this 30th day of Au- 
gust, 1830.— (Signed) W. D. Wright, G. N. F." 

Continuing from this along the bank, about a 
quarter of a mile lower down, is a man in attendance 
with a small boat to ferry across the river. To a 

stranger it would appear altogether impossible for a 
n2 



144 NIAGARA. 

boat to live in such a water, and certainly the impe- 
tuosity and strength of the current, together with its 
numerous eddies, are not quite pleasant; but I had 
every confidence in my ferryman, apparently grown 
gray in the service, and was right little disposed to 
indulge in any groundless apprehensions of danger. 
He even told me, but this he esteemed difeat, that his 
son, a boy of twelve years of age, had, more than once, 
swam across. 

'' The bed of the river here is formed by two ridges 
of rock, which extend a great way further down,* and 
it is still more narrowed, as if a part of this mighty 
stream had vanished during the fall, or were swallowed 
up by the earth." — We landed within about eighty 
yards of the fall on the American side. This is much 
smaller than the Horse Shoe Fall, not being more than 
300 yards wide ; the sheet is also greatly thinner, and 
It descends almost perpendicularly, so that there is 
no possibility of passing behind it, but in conse- 
quence of a rocky barrier in front it can be approached 
to within a few feet, making up your mind to re- 
turn with a wet jacket. It is rather higher than the 

* " The great northern terrace of high plain meets the Niagara 
river of Lewiston, seven miles below the falls, which is just at the 
foot of it; and here must have been originally the Falls of Niagara. 
The corresponding strata of rocks and earths, with every geological 
feature, carry irresistible evidence of this prodigious excavation. 

" In the autumn of 1795, it is said a shock of an earthquake was 
felt here, when a large piece of the rock that formed the cataract 
fell, and perceptibly changed the form of its curvature. 

" Indeed it is altogether incredible to suppose this immense body 
of water should descend thus, and not be constantly wearing away 
the rocks that lie in its way. How long it may have taken to cut 
this vast chasm is of no importance." 



NIAGARA. 145 

Horse Shoe Fall, being 164, whilst that is only 158 
feet, and 1 thought the roar quite as tremendous, in- 
deed it struck me as being louder. I ascended from 
this place by a long flight of stairs, which has been 
constructed to the top of the bank, and passing along 
the shore about a quarter of a mile, came to a bridge 
which has actually been carried across the rapids to 
Bath Island,* and upon which, (will it be believed ?) 
there is a large paper mill, as well as other mills, in 
operation : there is also a house where the weary tra- 
veller may find most comfortable refreshment, and 
where I partook of all the dinner — it was a very slight 
and hasty one, to be sure — I either had or needed 
during the day. My feasting was of another character, 
but the richest, the noblest, the most sumptuous ban- 
quet I ever did, I ever can enjoy. At this place there 
is a tolerable collection of shells, petrifactions, and 

* " Gen. P. B. Porter, of Black Rock, to whom the public are in- 
debted for the construction of this bridge, informed me that its erec- 
tion was not effected without considerable danger. Two large trees, 
hewed to correspond with their shape, were first constructed into a 
temporary bridge, the huts fastened to the shore, with the lightest 
ends projecting over the rapids. At the extremity of the projection, 
a small butment of stone was first placed in the river, and when this 
became secure, logs were sunk around it, locked in such a manner 
as to form a frame, which was filled with stone. A bridge was then 
made to this butment, the temporary bridge shoved forward, and 
another butment formed, until the whole was completed. One man 
fell into the rapids during the work. At first, owing to the velocity 
with which he was carried forward, he was unable to hold upon the 
projecting rocks ; but through great bodily exertions to lessen the 
motion by swimming against the current, he was enabled to seize 
upon a rock, from which he was taken by means of ropes. 

" The sensation in crossing this bridge over the tremendous rapids 
beneath, is calculated to alarm the traveller for his safety, and 
hasten him in his excursion to the island." — Traveller''s Guide. 



14G NIAGARA. 

various curiosities, the produce of this interesting 
neighbourhood. I also saw a large stuffed swan, 
which venturing too near the fall had the misfortune 
to be carried over, and was picked up dead below by 
the man who ferried me across. 

From Bath Island I passed by another bridge on 
to Goat Island, which is perhaps about a mile in cir- 
cumference, overgrown with trees and shrubs of dif- 
ferent kinds, some of which I made pretty free with 
on behalf of friends in England : but here, in my opi- 
nion, is obtained decidedly the finest view of the 
rapids^ and the principal fall, which is to be had from 
any situation around them. I allude, of course, to the 
Terrapin Rocks ; but these I have already spoken of, 
and let me not trust myself upon enchanted ground 
again. There is another very small island adjoining 
Goat Island, called Iris Island, from which a stair-way 
has been constructed to the foot of the falls, affording 
an excellent position for contemplating them from 
that part. " It was from ladders erected near this 
place that the celebrated Sam Patch made a descent of 
118 feet into the water below, a short time previous 
to his fatal jump at Rochester, in the autumn of 1829." 

Here I completed my tour of the falls, recrossed the 
rapids, and was again ferried over the river to the 
Canada side, where I retired to the Pavilion,* and en- 
joyed a most splendid coup (Vceil of the whole scene, 

* " The Pavilion, kept by Mr. Forsyth, is a lofty eminence above 
the falls, on the Canada side, affording from its piazzas and roof a 
beautiful prospect of the surrounding scenery. It is a handsomely 
constructed building, and can accommodate from 100 to 160 guests." 



NIAGARA. 147 

regretting that I had only been able to devote hours 
where I could willingly have lingered months, and 
should realise new beauties, fresh sources of interest, 
with every succeeding day. I did not feel, however, 
as if taking a last adieu ! I could not force myself to 
believe it : the moment will be hailed with rapture 
whenever these impressions are verified. I have seen 
Niagara in all the splendour of summer; I would 
again behold it in the icy array of a Canadian winter. 

And now, reader, thou has followed me — I would 
hope not quite impatiently — around this mighty 
scene, which, instead of being compressed in a few 
pages, might well furnish matter for a volume. To 
the little / have said, add all thy loftiest conceptions 
— the most vivid colourings of thy fancy — give wings 
to thy imagination, and soar to any height thou wilt 
— I still tell thee, thou hast no idea of Niagara ; be- 
lieve this thyself, and thou art then, perhaps, as 
familiar with it, as any multiplication of words could 
make thee, and to the testimony which I have given 
let me add that of the celebrated Duke de la Roche- 
focault Laincourt, who visited the falls in 1795. "I 
must repeat it again and again," says he, " that 
nothing can stand the test of comparison with the 
Falls of Niagara. Let no one expect to find here 
something pleasing, wildly beautiful, or romantic; 
all is wonderfully grand, awful, and sublime. Every 
power of the soul is arrested : the impression strikes 
deeper and deeper the longer you contemplate, and 
you feel more strongly the impossibility of doing 
justice to your perceptions and feelings." 



148 FROM NIAGARA TO 

From Niagara I had wished to return by the Lake 
Ontario, landing either at Osivego or SackeVs Har- 
bour; but the steam-boat in which I thought to have 
taken a passage, being a few days too late for me, 
I was compelled to alter my plans, and proceed 
by stage along the Alluvial Way, upon the lake 
border, which is considered one of the great natural 
curiosities of the country.* Took a conveyance 
along the Canada side of the Niagara river to Queens- 

* " This is called the Ridge Road, or the Alluvial Way. It lies 
along the south shore of the Lake Ontario, and is composed of 
common beach sand and gravel stones, apparently worn smooth by 
the action of water ; and the whole intermixed with small shells. 
Its general width is from four to eight rods, and it is raised in 
the middle with a handsome crowning arch from six to ten feet. 
Its general surface preserves a uniform level, being raised to meet 
the unevenness of the ground through which it lies. At the Genesee 
and Niagara rivers, it is found to be elevated about 120 or 130 feet ; 
and this, of course, determines its elevation from Lake Ontario, from 
which it is distant from six to ten miles, and towards which there is 
a pretty uniform, though gradual descent. That this stupendous 
work of nature was formed by the action of water is very evident, 
and that water must have been no other than the Lake Ontario, 
now settled away 130 feet below its ancient boundary ; and the 
whole intermediate space is said to be good land, exhibiting strong 
evidences of alluvial origin. It could hardly escape the observation 
of the entei7»rising inhabitants of the west, that on the surface of 
this ancient work of the waters of Ontario, a very excellent road 
might easily be made through its whole extent. At an early period 
one was opened with little labour, extending from Lewistown, on the 
the Niagara river, to the Genesee, terminating at the spot now occu- 
pied by Rochester, a distance of eighty-seven miles. The circum- 
stance deserves notice, that between this Alluvial Way and the shore 
of Lake Ontario, there are few of those ancient works, the mounds, 
tumuli, &c. of a race of people about whom we know nothing- but by 
such like monuments ; pretty good evidence that their era preceded 
that of the present level of the waters of that lake, or of their retire- 
xnent below the Alluvial Way." 



LEWISTOWN. 149 

town, seven miles, where I crossed to Lewistown, 
The river at this place has a very strong current, 
and is sometimes considerably ruffled. The banks 
are three hundred feet high ; but they soon decrease 
to about twenty or thirty feet, at which elevation 
they continue to Lake Ontario, seven miles below. 
Lewistown shared the fate of most of the frontier 
villages during the war; but it is now rebuilding in 
neat and respectable style, though I should imagine 
it will never arrive at equal commercial importance 
with the villages along the line of the canal. Be- 
sides a church, custom-house, &c., it has to boast of 
a very excellent hotel, much such a one as a per- 
son in want of every kind of comfortable refresh- 
ment would desire to fall in with. I have noticed 
generally that there is no difference in the charges 
at these places for breakfast, dinner, and tea, or sup- 
per — call it what you will ; both meals are here com- 
prised in one; — the customary demand for each is 
37| cents, and, as before hinted, there are no ad- 
dendas, as with us, to half the amount of the bill. 
I recollect not long ago, when travelling in England, 
my expenses at a certain inn were 10s., and the 
servants* fees, in the usual way of remunerating them, 
and as I did upon the occasion, amounted exactly 
to 5s. I have no doubt, however, before any distant 
day, it will be found that the American servants, (I 
beg their pardon, I ought to have said " helps") 
will consent to accept of a little remembrance from a 
parting guest without any manifest embarrassment. 



150 TO ROCHESTER Lock port. 

I have seen one effort of the kind made, and only 
one, which was received very graciously. 

August 31s^. — After a few hours' repose, which 
restored me to all the transporting scenes of the day, 
at half-past three o'clock this morning, I was in, or 
on the stage for Rochester. 

In the distance we pass through some eight 
or nine villages, none of which are worthy of 
mention, excepting Lockport, and that I was too 
much straitened for time to reconnoitre as I could 
have wished. I see it thus noticed in the Tra- 
veller's Guide : — " By far the most gigantic works 
on the whole line of the canal, are at this place. 
After passing along the canal between sixty or 
seventy miles on a perfect level, the traveller here 
strikes the foot of the ' Mountain Ridge,' which is 
surmounted by five magnificent locks of twelve feet 
each, connected with five more of equal dimensions 
for descending ; so that while one boat is raised to 
an elevation of sixty feet, another is seen sinking 
into the broad basin below. The locks are of the 
finest imaginable workmanship, with stone steps in 
the centre and on either side, guarded with iron 
railings, for the convenience and safety of passen- 
gers. Added to this stupenduous work, an exca- 
vation is continued through the Mountain Ridge, com- 
posed of rock, a distance of three miles, at an average 
depth of twenty feet. When viewing this part of 
the canal, we are amazed with the consideration of 
what may be accomplished by human means. 



Remarks by (he way. lol 

"The village of Lockport is mostly located on the 
mountain ridge, immediately above the locks; and 
though " founded on a rock," surrounded with rocks, 
and with little or no soil, it has already become a 
place of importance. In 1821, there were but two 
houses in the place ; now there are between three 
and four hundred. The canal here being on the 
highest summit level, and supplied with water from 
Lake Erie, (distant about thirty miles,) an abun- 
dance is obtained for hydraulic purposes, and the 
surplus at Lockport has been sold for 20,000 dollars. 
In the excavation through the mountain, several 
minerals were discovered, among which some of the 
finest specimens of the dog-tooth spar ever found in 
the United States. At first they were easily ob- 
tained; but latterly they have become an object of 
profit, and are sold at prices corresponding with 
their beauty." 

As to the .Alluvial Way, I am any thing but pleased 
with it, to travel along, and so far from recommend- 
ing it to tourists, as some have done, I recom- 
mend all, but the mere geologist, to keep off it; I 
consider it beyond comparison the most uninter- 
resting eighty miles of ground I have passed over 
in the country, and whatever thanks may be due to 
nature for the effort she has made to open a path- 
way through a wilderness, her handmaiden art must 
at all events be excluded from the least possible par- 
ticipation therein. For the first thirty o^.forty miles 
it is pretty closely wooded on each side, occasion- 
ally, perhaps, relieved By a rib of corduroy ; of which 



152 TO ROCHESTER- 



distinguifehed mention has been previously made ; 
and now and then a hut or two, and a few acres ol" 
half-cleared land, will be observed. It passes over, 
or is intersected by several small creeks and streams, 
at which parts it is wholly unguarded, and might 
be offering a very premium upon capsizing, or other 
ec^ually agreeable occurrence to break in upon the 
wearying sameness of its character ; indeed, an acci- 
dent of the kind had happened a few days previ- 
ously ; but, fortunately, the stage at the time was 
without a single passenger, and the driver escaped 
unhurt, though both himself and horses had a most 
haii'-breadth escape of being dashed to j^ieces. 

As we neared Rochester, the road became leveller, 
and the country more cleared and cultivated ; but 
the land appeared of indifferent quality, and agri- 
cultural affairs at a very low ebb. The dust was 
all but insupportable, and much as I have had occa- 
sion to complain of it elsewhere, it has been nothing 
like so bad as on this road. I have had to ride with 
my handkerchief tied over my head the greater part of 
the way; but notwithstanding that, and every other 
experiment, at times I was half suffocated. 

Having frequently alluded to the inconvenience 
which a traveller sustains from the dust of an Ame- 
rican road, perhaps a better idea of tlie justness of 
my complaint may be entertained if I mention the 
principle upon which they are usually repaired. 
When a road — now I am not including' all, I say 
usually — has become in a state in which the wheels 
of carriages, in place of running^ upon its surface. 



Uetnarks by the way. 153 

have to perform their revolutions some eii^hteen 
inches or more below; and when we shonld un- 
hesitatingly begin to prefer our indictments and so 
forth, the neighbouring farmers are very civilly ap- 
plied to for a loan of their services, and as civilly 
and promptly repair to the defective part with oxen, 
ploughs, &c., and commence breaking up the sides 
of the road just as they would one of their own fallows : 
this done, the oxen are released from the ploughs, 
and yoked to a large shovel, or scope, with two 
handles, held by the driver : this is pressed down 
into the ground which has been previously loosened, 
and when as much is upon it as it will retain, the 
cattle, with admirable docility, and almost without 
a bidding, start with it at once into the centre of the 
road, where their driver tosses it over, and returns for 
further supplies; thus on till the repairs are completed. 
*' Completed ! — but when are the stones laid upon 
it?" Reader, thou art asking a very rational question, 
which I answer by informing thee that whenever any 
adjacent field abounds with these substances to the 
injury of its vegetation, and it is not too much trouble 
to remove them, they are gratuitously bestowed upon 
the road, where no hammer of M'Adam or any other 
Adam ever molests them, but in all their original 
shapes and sizes they are suffered to remain, occupy- 
ing just those positions which chance, the laws of 
gravity, stage wheels, &c. may determine. And thus, 
with much republican simplicity, is an operation per- 
formed in a day or two, which would cost us as many 
months, and employ one or more overseers, surveyors. 



154 FROM ROCHESTER TO ^E^V HARTFORD. 

and half the poor of the pariah.* Do not marvel, 
however, after this, independent of now and then a 
jolt, that in a dry season there should be 'something 
too much' of dust, and, in a wet one, a little super- 
abundance of mud and mire ; though, taking; the run 
of times and seasons, travelling- is really more tolerable 
than under such a state of things could be well sup- 
posed, and, except in newly settled districts, not to be 
greatly complained of — as good, no doubt, as England 
afforded in equally juvenile years — and every year im- 
proving. The Americans, I imagine, would have had 
better roads but for their admirable ivater conveyances, 
in which they so far surpass us, that it were be- 
coming to be pretty modest in our animadversions 
upon the other. I have spoken of the matter, en pas- 
sant, with that perfect good will which I have noticed 
other things, and feel towards them upon all occasions. 
They are a great people — have done great things — are 
doing great things — and, ere long, ive shall not have 
to tell them to do more —1 gness. 

Of Rochester I can only confirm what I have pre- 
viously stated. It is decidedly the first place upon 
the line of canal, and of all, excepting Buffalo, is 
likely to take the lead, but I shall be much deceived, 
if, in the course of — may I say — a few years, Buffalo 
does not leave every other in the rear. 

My route from Rochester to New Hartford, and in- 



* This latter term may almost need explaining to an American, 
but the mass o{ enlightened people in England are so well acquainted 
with it that I will not do him the injustice to infer his disability to 
comprehend it. 



Remarks hy the way. 155 

deed to Albany, was so nearly the same as the one by 
which I travelled westward that it would be as tedious 
as unnecessary to dwell upon it. Omitting dates, I 
will take incidents and objects in hasty rotation :— 
And first, about two miles to the south of Pittsford, 
the grand (canal) embankment, as it is termed, over 
the Irondequoit* Creek, had given way and caused a 
most serious inundation in the neighbourhood : at 
the principal breach it had swept a course, for, some 
distance, from sixty to a hundred yards wide, and 
five or six feet deep, depositing immense quantities of 
sand in the surrounding fields and woods. An orchard 
I noticed which presented a singular appearance, the 
trees being all buried as high as their buts, and the 
boughs full of fruit resting upon the sand, as if grow- 
ing immediately out of it. The occurrence had taken 
place a week or two prior to my passing the spot, and 
all had been put to rights again, but from the loose 
and sandy nature of the soil in the vicinity 1 should 
fear there is but little security against a repetition of 
it. It seems the most imperfect part along the whole 

* This ought to be called " Teoronto." 

Dr. Spaftbrd, speaking of the Bay, observes, — " The Indians call 
it Teoronto, a sonorous and purely Indian name, too good to be 
supplanted by such vulgarisms as ' Gerund egut, or * Irondequoit !' 
The Bay is about five miles long and one wide, communicating with 
the Lake [Ontario] by a very narrow opening, or such it used to 
have ; and Teoronto, or Tche-o-ron-tok, perhaps rather nearer the 
Indian pronunciation, is the place where the ivaves breathe and die, 
ov gasp and expire. Let a person of as much discernment as these 
' Savages' watch the motion of the waters in this Bay, facing the 
north, after a storm on the Lake, or a violent gale, and he will 
admire the aptitude of its name, and never again pronounce Cerun- 
degut, Irondequot, or Iroiidequoit." 

o 2 



15'6 TO NEW HARTFORD- 



]ine of the canal. — Might not the canal have been 
carried farther to tlie south and have avoided this 
creek and the necessity of an embankment altogether ? 
I am suggesting, however, with professed ignorance of 
attendant circumstances; my map may be incorrect, or 
what not — I only wish that an execution so great, and 
so complete in most parts, may not remain defective 
in any. 

One of the next things that caught my eye, though 
seemingly insignificant by comparison, was scarcely 
more agreeable, namely, a handbill offering a reward 
of twenty-five dollars for the apprehension of a shop 
lifter at Canandaigua, and not the only one I have 
noticed. A few years ago such an advertisement 
would have been no trifling novelty, but whoever will 
take the trouble to observe the specimen of society 
daily teeming in from the ' old country,'* and diffus- 
ing itself particularly in the State of New York, will 
be at no loss to account for the occasional appearance 
of such things now — the cause and effect are at once, 
and ec|ually self-evident. 

From Canandaigua to Geneva we varied the route 
a little by taking the Castleton road; along which 
the land was chiefly in a superior state of cultivation, 
and in equality, and all respects, fully supported the 
very favourable opinion before expressed of the agri- 
culture of this fine district. About a mile to the 
west of Geneva, T saw the only quick hedge I have 

* The einigrations from Great Britain and Ireland to the State 
of New York, during the last twelve months, amonnt I believe to 
more than 20,000. 



Remarks by the way, 157 

noticed in my travels, which appeared to be thriv- 
ing remarkably well; much, indeed, would it con- 
tribute to beautify the country were this description 
of fence to become general. I begin almost to tire 
of their everlasting wood and stone. 

Since leaving Albany, I had been frequently told, 
I suppose by those interested in supporting the old 
line of stages, that the new, or Pioneer line, had sold 
out their stock, and discontinued running. I had 
my suspicions as to the accuracy of the information, 
and at Geneva I found them fully confirmed, there 
being a meeting of the proprietors at the inn where 
we dined, at which it was resolved to carry on the 
most vigorous opposition. I am no friend to illiberal 
or uncalled-for opposition, but I hate monopolies of 
all kinds ; and as regards these stages, before there 
was a choice of conveyances, I have heard enough 
of the inconvenience which persons sustained in tra- 
velling just upon the terms which might be dictated 
to them; and once myself, when upon a cross road, 
where the old line had it all to themselves, besides 
breaking down, which, to be sure, might have occur- 
red to either party, I had such a sample of their 
proceedings as I should not wish to experience again. 
We scarcely averaged more than three and a half 
miles an hour; and in urging the drivers even to 
that speed, had to submit to no little insolence into 
the bargain. When upon the main roads, where 
both lines have been plying, the state of things has 
been widely different, — the fare moderate — speed 
nearly doubled, and a spirit of accommodation 



158 TO NEW HARTFORD- 



evinced by drivers and all connected with tlie esta- 
blishment. I hope and trust the public will so far 
support the new line, as to warrant them in keeping 
the field. There is travelling enough for both, and 
the disposition to travel will keep pace with the 
facilities afforded. Where two concerns may thrive, 
and the public at the same time be much better 
accommodated, there can be no reason why one 
should engross its exclusive patronage, to confer 
upon it a smaller amount of benefit. "Live and let 
live/' is a good old-fashioned maxim, notwithstand- 
ing being somewhat outre in the present day : — I 
wish both parties success, and a fair competition and 
understanding between them; but neither merely to 
oppose or subvert the other. 

We reached Auburn late on the evening of a very 
fine and warm day, but it was succeeded by a night 
which set us all a shivering, and I remarked that 
the natives seemed to feel it quite as much as my- 
self. We were eiglit inside, with the leathern cur- 
tains of the carriage closely buckled down, and well 
wrapped up in cloaks, Sic; but all would not do; 
at the end of every stage we were glad to run to a 
fire, where there happened to be one, or up and 
down the street to warm ourselves. In the morning, 
by nine or ten o'clock, it was as hot as it had been 
on the preceding day; the curtains w^ere rolled up, 
and our clothing again made as light as possible. 
These great variations in tlie temperature between 
day and night, between one day and another, and 
oftentimes between different parts of the same day, 



Remarks, ^c. 159 

are much complained of. A good deal of the ''fever 
and ague" is generally prevalent at this season of 
the year — perhaps, in part, attributable to this cause. 
Upon arriving at New Hartford, I was met by a 
general complaining of the want of rain, and the 
herbage appeared to me to be more burnt up than I 
had seen it farther westward. My friends informed 
me that they had scarcely had even a shower since 
my leaving, and there had been none of any con- 
sequence for some time before. Farmers here must 
"make hay while the sun shines,'' for what with the 
heat and draught of summer, the frost and snow of 
winter, and the 'puddly state of the land in the 
spring, there is much less time allowed for the cultiva- 
tion of it than in England ; and farmers, I think, are 
more on the alert, and eager to embrace every oppor- 
tunity which presents itself. There are somewhat 
fewer ''gentleman farmers" than with us, — or, I should 
rather say, than there had used to be with us, the race 
having been pretty well plucked and thinned of late; 
— and, with few exceptions here and there, masters 
and men take the field together, and continue their 
operations, with but little interruption, from morning 
till night. One of the first settlers at New Hart- 
ford, ere such luxurious conveniences as houses were 
in fashion, resided for some time in a hollow tree, 
and hence is frequently distinguished by the appel- 
lation of " the hollow tree man ;" he is now, however, 
a respectable freeholder, has built himself a very 
comfortable habitation, where he may securely repose 
under his oivn vine, if not under his own Jig tree, and 



iOO ^'EW HARTFORD TrcntoH Falls. 

close a life of labour and privation in peace and 
independence. He is not, perhaps, in affluent cir- 
cumstances, as we esteem affluence, but he has more 
than enough to bound every want, and, therefore, 
he is a rich man. Could any of our aristocratic 
lordlings say as much? 

During the little pause I made at New Hartford, T 
availed myself of an opportunity of visiting Trenton 
Falls, fourteen miles north of Utica. They are situated 
on the West Canada Creek, the largest northern branch 
of the Mohawk ; — but here is a much better descrip- 
tion than my hurried view enabled me to concoct: — 

"These renowned falls," says the writer,* "are on 
West Canada Creek, between 22 and 24 miles above its 
confluence with the Mohawk. The West Canada 
Creek is a powerful stream, and constitutes almost one 
half of the rivers at their coalescence. The falls are 
six in number, and occupy an extent of rather over 
two miles. The West Canada Creek in its way 
from the summit of the highlands of Black river to 
its lower valley, lying between the latter and Has- 
senclever mountain, crosses a ridge of lime-stone 
four or five miles in breadth, stretching through the 
country from the Mohawk to the St. Lawrence. Its 
course over this ridge by its tortuous bed is six or 
seven miles, two and a half of which are above the 
falls. The waters of the creek, soon after they have 
reached the lime-stone, move with accelerated strides 
over the nake<l rocks, to the head of the [Jpper Fall, 

+ James Maraiiley, Esq. 



NEW HARTFOUD Treulon Falls. 161 

where they are precipitated eighteen or twenty feet 
down an abrupt ledge into a spacious basin. The 
whole descent to the head of this fall in the last 
two miles is computed at sixty feet. Here a deep 
and winding ravine begins, which extends down the 
stream more than two miles. Its average depth is 
estimated at 100 feet, and its average breadth at tiie 
top, 200 feet. The sides and bottom consist of lime- 
stone, deposited in horizontal layers, varying in 
thickness from some inches to a foot and upwards, 
and abound with organic remains. The sides of the 
ravine are shelving, perpendicular, and overhanging; 
and some of the trees that have taken root in the 
fissures of the rocks are now pendant over the abyss, 
where they form the most fanciful appearances ima- 
ginable. The country along, and neighbouring the 
ravine, descends to the south, and is mostly covered 
with woods, which exclude every appearance till you 
arrive upon the very verge. 

"The water at the Upper Fall descends eighteen or 
twenty feet perpendicularly. Below there is a capa- 
cious basin, out of which the stream issues in a 
diminished bed into the ravine, the entrance of whicli 
is between lofty barriers of rocks. This fall, when 
viewed from the bridge, or from the high ground 
west of the creek, has a fine appearance. 

''At the Cascades, consisting of two pitches, with 
intervening rapids, the water falls eighteen feet. 
The bed of the stream is here contracted, and the 
sides serrated; the banks of the ravine risir;g with 
abruptness almost directly in tlie rear. 



162 NEW HARTFORD TrenioH Falls. 

"The Mill-dam Fall, a little lower down, has an 
abrupt descent of fourteen feet, the stream behig 
about sixty yards broad at the break. 

** The High Falls are forty rods below the latter, and 
consist of three distinct falls, with intervening slopes 
and some small pitches. The first has a perpendicular 
descent of forty-eight feet ; in floods and rises the 
water covers the whole break and descends in one 
sheet; but at other times, mostly in two grooves at the 
west side of the fall. The second has a descent of 
about eleven feet; the third, thirty-seven feet; and 
the three, including slopes and pitches, 109 feet. In 
freshets and floods, the entire bed at the High Falls 
is covered with water of a milk-white colour ; and 
the spray, which at such times ascends in pillars 
towards the sky, when acted upon by the rays of 
the sun, exhibits the rainbow in all its brilliant 
colours. 

" The fourth fall is called Sherman's, and is distant 
nearly seventy rods from the High Falls. Tlie descent 
is thirty-three feet, when the stream is low, and thirty- 
seven when high. 

" The last fall is at Conrad's Mills, at the very foot 
of the ravine, and is six feet. 

" Besides the falls, there are several raceways or 
chutes, from ten to twenty rods long, through which 
the waters pass with great rapidity. The whole de- 
pression of the stream, from the top of the Upper 
Fall, to the foot of Conrad's is 312 feet; and if we 
add the descent above the Upper Fall, which is com- 
puted to be sixty feet, and that below Conrad's Fall in 



NEW HARTFORD Tt'entuH Falls, 163 

half a mile, which is estimated at fifteen feel, we shall 
find that the entire depression in less than five miles, 
is 387 feet. 

** The falls, raceways, and rapids, and, in truth, the 
whole bed within the ravine, exhibit very different ap- 
pearances at different times. In floods the whole is 
one tremendous rapid, with four cataracts, and several 
chutes. 

"The best time to visit these falls is when the stream 
is low, because then there is no inconvenience or diffi, 
culty in ascending the ravine from the foot of Sher- 
man's Stairway to the head of the upper raceway. 
Few persons who visit them have resolution to ascend 
the ravine from the Stairway to the basin at the Upper 
Fall. This, however, is not to be wondered at, because 
the lofty rocky barriers which constitute the sides of 
the ravine advance to the water's edge in many places, 
and terminate in frightful projections, which cannot 
be passed without the most imminent danger. Some 
of these difficulties, however, have been obviated by 
blasting away portions of the rocks and putting up 
chains ;* and persons now go to the upper raceway 
without hazard. 

"The ravine, with some iev; exceptions, is still 
bordered by woods, and persons desirous of visiting 
the falls are obliged to go to what is called Sherman's 

* Several persons were so employed on the day I visited the falls, 
aud loud and continued were the reverberations along the ravine 
at the time of the explosions. One fragment of rock of, I should 
think, near 2 cwt. blasted a few yards from the spot on which I 
was standing, was hurled across the ravine, and struck the rocks on 
the opposite side with great violence, 
P 



164 NEW HARTFORD TrentoH Falls. 

House, from whence they proceed through the woods 
by some rude paths. One of these leads to the Stan- 
way, which descends to the bottom of the ravine, and 
the other leads up to the High Falls. The former is 
usually preferred. On reaching the strand at the foot 
of the Stairway, you proceed up the stream at first 
upon the strand, and then by a narrow winding foot- 
path to Sherman's Fall. From hence you advance to 
the High Falls, a part of the way being overhung by 
large jutting rocks which menace you with destruction. 
From the head of the High Falls to the upper end of 
the raceway above the Cascades, the way is easy when 
the stream is low, but from thence, upwards, it is dif- 
ficult and dangerous. 

*' While you are passing along the narrow and 
sinuous paths leading to the projections, and by the 
brinks of headlong precipices, you tremble with re- 
verential awe, when you consider that one false step 
might precipitate you into the resistless torrent below, 
and in an instant consign you to a watery grave.* 

* A most distressing accident very lately occurred here. The 
victim was a young man of the name of Bill, son of Dr. Bill, of 
Remsen. He was engaged at the time in conducting some female 
friends around the first point of a rock, a short distance above the 
lower fall, when, the water being high, he incautiously stepped into 
the edge of the current, slipped into the river, passed over the falls 
about fort)"^ feet, and was seen no more until two days afterwards. 
The Utica Intelligencer gives the following particulars :—" We 
learn that Mr. Bill made a number of attempts to gain the shore, 
as he was borne along by the current, which was too strong for him 
to resist. He was only immersed in water to his middle when he 
went over the first fall, and his friends were so much shocked that 
they were unable to render him any assistance. The party was 
composed of his sister, uncle, and two cousins, the fonner of whont 
immediately ran towards the public-house for assistance, but she 



NEW HATRFORD Trenton Falls. 165 

*' Along the bottom and lower parts of the ravine, 
numerous organic remains are found enveloped in the 
rocks which are easily divisible. The remains lie flat 
in or between the laminae, their contours and compo- 
nent parts being little distorted from their original 
shape and dimensions. Sometimes there is defect, 
occasioned in the transition from the animal to the 
stony or fossil state ; but, in most instances, all the 
parts are so completely defined, that not only the 
order, but the genera and species may be recognised. 
These remains are easily separated from the layers in 
which they are inclosed. Their exteriors are com- 
monly glossy, often very smooth, and ordinarily of a 
dark colour, being transformed into stone, and con- 
stituting integral parts of the rocks which envelop 
them. From a careful examination of certain of these 
remains, and their positions, we are led to believe 
that their prototypes lived and died on the spot, and 
that the rocks in which they are entombed are of pos- 
terior formation." 

was so hurried when she arrived that it was some time before the 
bystanders were able to learn what she wanted to make known to 
them. Her appearance was distressing to every one ; she had lost 
her hat, and in running for help, her hair had fallen over her 
shoulders, and she was in a state of mind little short of distraction. 
A nun^ber of persons went to the falls, and on arriving found the 
rest of the party almost overcome with grief, but no traces of the 
deceased could be found. The body was found two days afterwards 
below the lowest fail. The young man, it is said, completed his 
twentieth year on Sunday, the day before this dreadful event, and 
was full of hope and joy at the prospect before him in life. His 
look, as he was carried over the fall, is represented by the uncle as 
heartrending in the extreme, and the more so as they were unable, 
from their position, to assist him, which he seemed by that look 
to request they would do." 



166 NEW HARTFORD TrenloH Falls. 

There is a very comfortable hotel on the spot, where 
every accommodation and refreshment is afforded to 
visiters. 

Before my setting out for these interesting falls I 
\vas cautioned not to raise my expectations too high 
— told that I should think nothing of them after 
Niagara — that I should have seen them previously, 
and so forth — observations of no weight whatever. 
I contemplated the scene with an exquisite delight, as 
who would not ? but if I am asked whether it bears any 
resemblance to Niagara, one short monosyllable will 
suffice me, — .Vo — none at all, — no more than a river 
resembles the ocean, or a pigmy a giant. It is per- 
fectly immaterial which you see first or last — they are 
totally distinct and different scenes, and the interest 
and emotions which they excite are as widely separate 
and dissimilar. One would charm and engage, whilst 
the other fixed you in rapturous and awful amazement ; 
the one is grandeur and sublimity, the other in the 
highest degree romantic and beautiful. 

It is natural to wish to realize by comparison ; to 
impress upon the mind by what we have seen, some 
image or idea of what we have not ; but every attempt 
of the kind must be abandoned here. Niagara must 
thunder on in peerless majesty, and Trenton bound 
along through its enchanting ravine, but they re- 
main Niagara and Trenton still : — 

'• When thy light bark to summer streams is given, 

What deemest thou of the vessel on the deep, 
When mutiny within all law has riven, 
And round it billows in dread thunder sweep ?" 

To suppose a parallel is doing injustice to both. 



NEW HARTFORD TO ALBANY. 167 

Let each be viewed through its own medium of at- 
traction, and each will be found deserving of all the 
admiration that can be lavished upon it— and much 
more. 

The country between New Hartford and Trenton 
is rather flat than hilly. The land, more or less cul- 
tivated, of good quality and well watered. Near 
Whitesborough, on our return, we overtook one of 
the largest droves of sheep I have seen on any pub- 
lic road in the State ; there must have been some 
thousands : they were a description of travellers, 
however, we would most gladly have given the way 
to, had an opportunity offered of making our escape : 
— the very recollection of the atmosphere of dust 
we had to respire through, sets me a coughing and 
sneezing even now. I would scarcely have driven 
the flock twenty miles to have been installed pro- 
prietor, without other fee or reward. 

Two days before I left New Hartford, there had 

been a considerable fall of rain, which set the 

farmers busily to work getting their wheat into the 

ground, and imparted to the herbage almost the 

green and freshness of spring: the dust was laid as- 

if never again to rise, but in its place, on my 

journey to Albany, we had to contend with a depth 

of mud scarcely more agreeable ; though I was thus 

furnished with a specimen of both kinds of travelling 

here, the dry and the wet, neither of which you can 

pronounce just to your mind, — like most other things, 

best in the medium. Except in parts where the 

road inclined to rock, and afforded the wheels some 
p 2 



ISJO ALBANY, TO 

support, I know not to what depth they were sunken 
in; at times it was about as much as the horses 
could manage to drag us along, and to relieve 
them by walking ourselves was utterly out of the 
question. We were twenty hours and a half in 
getting over our ninety-six miles, leaving Utica at half- 
past eight, on one morning, and reaching Albany 
at five on the following: for the last fifteen miles, 
namely, from Schenectady, the horses walked nearly 
every step of the way. Altogether, however, I fared 
far better than a much -esteemed friend of mine in 
New York once did, in travelling between the same 
places, three entire days and two nights having stolen 
away ere they had completed the distance. 

Albany had so few attractions for me, and the 
Catskill Mountains, to which I had determined to 
devote the day, so many, that notwithstanding my 
previous day and night of travel, 1 felt impatient 
for the departure of the steam-boat, on this morning, 
the North America, and before seven o'clock I was 
pacing the deck of that magnificent vessel. We 
were, I suppose, about 300 on board, with one half 
of whom I sat down to a breakfast, only too pro- 
fusely good, and in an apartment which, for size and 
elegance, would have done no discredit to a palace. 

The morning was brilliant, the rain had all passed 
over, and the sky as cloudless as ever. What a 
contrast to my yesterday ! dragging through mud 
knee deep, along a dull road, at little more than 
four miles an hour, and now cutting the waters of 
th« majestic Hudson at nearly three times that 



CATSKILL. r69 

speed, and every moment fresh beauties and attrac- 
tions opening upon the enraptured view. Well, our 
pleasures are made up of variety. It is sometimes 
worth enduring extremes for the sake of their oppo- 
sites. Not that I would willingly have bartered the 
sunshine and smiles of to-day, for the darkness and 
gloom which preceded it. 

By ten o'clock I had landed at Catskill. The only 
place of importance between and Albany is the city 
of Hudson, which stands on the east bank of the Hud- 
son, twenty-seven miles from Albany. It is very 
finely situated, and contains about 5000 inhabitants; 
but we merely stopped for a few seconds to discharge 
and take in passengers. 

Catskill is on the west bank, five miles lower down, 
and is a very pretty village. There are a number of 
houses bordering the river, but the principal part of 
the village is full half a mile from it. The Catskill 
Creek, on which are several mills and manufactories, 
flows through it, and here unites its waters with those 
of the Hudson. It has two or three churches, as 
many banks and hotels, and a number of neat and 
well-furnished stores. Its population is estimated at 
4000. From the village to Pine Orchard, on which 
stands what is called the Mountain House, at an ele- 
vation of 2,200 feet from the level of the Hudson, is 
about twelve miles ; and having procured a car and a 
pair of good horses at the hotel, with one or two more 
of my steam-boat companions, I was soon making my 
way towards it. For the first seven miles the road is 
very good, and tolerably level, and we bowled along 



170 CATSKILL— — Movnlain House 

in admirable style : I had not had better travelling in 
the country. At this distance we came to a little inn, 
called Lawrence's Tavern, where tourists may pause 
and refresh themselves, if they tvilt, but which horses 
never ought to pass without, unless it be the design of 
the parties to accommodate them with an empty ve- 
hicle for the remainder of the distance, quite enough 
for any animals to drag up that precipitous ascent. 
The humanity of one of my fellow-travellers was 
aroused a few moments earlier than mine, and elated 
with his progress for the first few hundred yards, when 
i alighted, with much self-complacency and impor- 
tance he ventured to suppose — all his hurried respiration 
would permit him to articulate — that this ivas a new 
sort of work to me ; before reaching the top, however, 
he found me not quite so much in my novitiate as he 
had imagined, and evinced the least possible disposi- 
tion to put my experience to the test. I saw him but 
once again throughout the day, and am inclined to 
believe that he was honouring Catskill with his pre- 
sence for the first and last time. No matter; — in 
three hours and a half we had gained the summit, 
and little should 1 have thought of ten times the 
labour to have witnessed such a scene as there burst 
upon us. The day continued, as it commenced, most 
propitious for the excursion, without the least of that 
haze in the distance so often attendant upon the finest 
days; and T could distinctly see the far off Green 
Mountains of Vermont to the north, the Highlands of 
the Hudson to the south, and the range of the Tagh- 
kanic to the east: the outlines of the latter towards 



and Kaaterskill Falls. 171 

evening, when the sun was casting his expiring beams 
upon them, and bordering them with a golden ra- 
diance, were uncommonly fine. Through the whole 
extent of the valley, the " Silver Hudson," edged by 
well-cultivated lands, and elegant mansions, with 
numerous towns and villages, was gracefully flowing 
along; its surface often diversified by "some fair isle," 
the whitened sail, or the rising smoke from a steam- 
boat ; the only situation in which I ever thought the 
latter had any tendency to improve a prospect. 

The face of the mountain below was finely wooded, 
and forests of trackless extent, appearing from this 
elevation to be only partially thinned by the advance 
of agriculture, were spreading all around. It was a 
scene altogether so beautiful, so boundless, so all- 
attractive to the " nature-loving eye," that I could 
have dwelt upon it with a heightening rapture the 
longer I had surveyed it; but time was stealing on, 
however imperceptibly, and having engaged to descend 
to the village, in order to proceed by the evening steam- 
boat, which passed at eight o'clock, to Poughkeepsie, 
the rest of the party intending to remain at the Moun- 
tain House, to witness the risinir of the sun, I inquired 



iqi 



of the driver how soon he could run me down, and set 
oflf all alone to the Kaaterskill Falls, about two miles 
distant. —The approach is by a narrow road through 
a wood, and I had cause to regret the very imperfect 
direction I received at starting, as long before reach- 
ing the falls the principal path terminates, and several 
small and obscure ones branch off in different direc- 
tions. I knew not which to pursue, and after some 



172 CATSKILL Falls, ^'c. 

hesitation contrived to make choice of the wrong, 
which, with many windings and turnings, becoming 
more and more indistinct at every progressive step, 
led me at length into a thicket, and there disappeared 
altogether, leaving me to steer myself out as I could. 
T felt convinced, from the distance I had come, that I 
could not be very far from the falls, and listened 
attentively to catch the sound of them, but all around 
was silent. Not to tire others, however, as much as I 
tired myself in getting clear of the labyrinth, — after 
beating about for some time, in no very enviable state 
of uncertainty, I at length found the falls, but almost 
without water, which at once unravelled the mystery 
of their having been so completely inaudible to me 
when not more than a c[uarter of a mile off. " The 
stream takes its rise from two small lakes, half a mile 
in the rear of the hotel ; and after a westerly course 
of a mile and a half, the waters fall perpendicularly 
175 feet; and pausing a moment on a projection of 
rock, plunge again down a precipice of 85 feet more, 
making the whole descent of the falls 260 feet;" but 
the smallness of the body of water which is usually 
passing over them seems almost lost in the vast chasm 
into which it descends ; scarcely entitling them, in- 
deed, to the name of a cataract ; the spot, however, is 
well worth visiting, if it were only for the view above the 
falls, where the eye roves over the finest and most 
extensive dell I ever beheld, wooded throughout, and 
the varied hues of autumn now adding to the foliage 
an almost more than vernal richness and beauty. 
There is a small wooden hut at the place, where per- 



TU POUGHKEEPSIE. 173 

sons are in attendance, during the summer season, to 
lend any aid to visitors which they may require. I 
have no doubt but it will become a place of much 
resort. T would only recommend any one desig-ning- 
to visit it — and they will find themselves well re- 
warded — either to set out more liberally directed than 
I did, or to take a guide from the hotel ; but the way, 
ere long, may be made intelligible to the capacity of 
any blunderer that can travel it. 

On my return to the Mountain House,* I dis- 
covered that the limits which my charioteer pre- 
scribed to me had so nearly expired, that I had only 
time to cast a parting glance over the scene of my 
morning's enchantment, and obey the unwelcome 
summons. Our descent was a most rapid one, occu- 
pying but little more than two hours, a performance 
only fit for a driver and horses well accustomed to 
it, the road being very much unguarded, and pre- 
senting quite enough of ravine and precipice to 
accord with the tastes of the generality of travel- 
lers. My object, however, in meeting the boat was 
effected, though we had run the matter so fine as 
to prevent my taking the slightest refreshment before 
starting; the necessity of which my somewhat subsid- 
ing excitement had induced me to feel with no slight 



* " This building is owned by the Catshill Mountain Association, 
an incorporated company, with a capital of 10,000 dollars. It is 
140 feet in length, 24 in width, and four stories high, and has piazzas 
ia front the whole length, and a wing extending in the rear for 
lodging rooms. It is well furnished, and possesses every convenience 
aad accommodation requisite to the comfort and good cheer of its 
numerous guests." 



174 POUGHKEEI'SIE. 

degree of urgency; nor did my situation seem much 
improved when transferred to the steam-boat, the 
established repasts of the day being at an end, and 
I had to make out a most moving case ere I could 
soften the caterer general to order the needful com- 
pliance with my wishes. From Catskill, or Kaats- 
kill,^- to Poughkeepsie is about thirty-five miles, a 
three hours' trip, as we left the former place at 
eight, and arrived at the latter at eleven o'clock: — 
And here have I found an hotel, excellent of its 
kind, the fatigues of the day only rendering me 
the more apt at appreciating its various accommo- 
dations. 

September ilth. — I occupied the early part of this 
morning in strolling over Poughkeepsie. It stands 
on the east side of the river, from whence to the village 
is a pretty steep ascent of about three-quarters of a 
mile. It was first settled by some Dutch families, 
nearly 100 years ago, and "the Convention that met 
to deliberate on the federal constitution, and voted 
for its adoption, met in this place in 1788." It now 
contains about 5,000 inhabitants. The streets are 
well laid out, the two principal ones crossing each 
other at right angles, and the stores and private resi- 
dences have a very neat and respectable appearance. 
There are several churches, or meeting-houses, banks 
— a very handsome one is now in erection — schools, 

* We ought to write Kaatskill for the creek, Kaatsbergs for the 
mountains, and let the people have Catakill for the name of their 
township and village, to which they seem so wedded," — Dr. Spa/, 
ford. 



POUGHKEFPSfE, &C, 17-5 

hotels, bieweritis, factories, ])rintirig- establishments, 
&c. &c. The post road from New York to Albany 
passes through it, and its trade and intercourse with 
both those places, particularly the former, since the 
admiral)le facilities afforded by steam navigation 
are very considerable; it has also an extensive and 
frequent communication with the Eastern States. 
In the neighbourhood are some very elegant man- 
sions, situated either upon the bank of the Hudson, 
with a verdant lawn extending to the water's edge, 
or upon the heights around, and commanding a fine 
view of the river and the adjacent country. It is a 
place which iew could see without admiring; — " taken 
for all in all/' I have scarcely met with one, to my 
taste, worthy of a precedence. The name, Poughkeepsie, 
is of Indian origin, from apokeepsing — safe harbour. 

From hence I had engaged to pay a visit to a friend, 
residing near Hartsville, distant about eighteen miles 
in a north-easterly direction, to whom I had received 
no other address — a very customary and certainly a 

very comprehensive one — than " J^hie 

Partners;'' it would be as well at once to siiy Dutchess 
County, since JVine Partners, as the term may imply, 
is a tract of land originally granted to nine proprie- 
tors, comprising several townships, and extending 
from the Hudson to Connecticut. Fortunately, the 
family were extensively known, but, w?ifbrtunately, I 
missed the morning and only regular coach passing 
by Hartsville, having been deceived as to the time of 
its starting, and was conveyed as far as Pleasant VaL 
ley, seven miles on the road, in a very neat one-liorse 



176 HARTSviLLE Excurslon to 

car, by a person who carried the mail to Pine Plains, 
&c., at the northern extremity of the county. The 
road was excellent, and the country on either side 
had a rich and fertile appearance, reminding me much 
of Herefordshire, and some other counties in England, 
— but of this anon. 

At Pleasant Valley, a small village of no particular 
interest, not meeting with any conveyance to my mind, 
I determined to walk the remaining eleven miles; a 
mode of travelling which, notwithstanding my par- 
tiality for it, the heat of the day rendered much more 
fatiguing than agreeable, obliging me to raise my 
umbrella to protect me /rom the rays of the sun; a 
thing I have only had occasion to do once for rain 
since I landed. Under these circumstances I was 
well pleased to gain the door of my friends, where I 
was received with all the sincerity of an American 
welcome. 

With this kind and hospitable family I spent nearly 
a week, variously but always agreeably engaged, and 
each member of it solicitous to add to my pleasures, 
and promote to the utmost the objects I had in view 
in visiting the county. 

One of our excursions was to Dover Falls, east about 
fifteen miles from Hartsville, which though not of the 
magnitude of some I have seen, are well worthy of 
notice; but I mention the circumstance the more from 
a little feat which on this day it fell to my lot to per- 
form, viz. the slaying of a rattlesnake. We were at 
the time in a very thick part of a wood, and I was 
just in the act of stepping over a log, on the opposite 



Docer Falls, ^c. 177 

side of which the creature was lyino^, coiled up. I had 
so nearly set my foot upon it, that had it not heen a 
young- one I suppose I should not have escaped its 
envenomed fang; as it was, it was probably large 
enough to have inflicted a fatal wound, but its dispo 
sition seemed to be to retreat with all possible de- 
spatch. I had not pursued it far when I was so for- 
tunate as to strike it, and thus capture the prize. It 
had one rattle perfectly formed, by which I supposed 
it was two years old, as I believe they have none 
before that age, and one annually afterwards. When 
I exhibited it at Dover, on our return, it appeared to 
excite almost as much curiosity as if such reptiles had 
never existed in the country; and it was generally 
determined that one had not been seen in those parts 
for twenty years or more. I know not how it chanced 
to me to stumble upon such a prodigy; no one could 
less have troubled themselves, either before or since, 
on behalf of the serpent tribe than I have done, and 
with the exception of a few harmless garter-snakes, I 
have scarcely seen one in the country ; but so it was, 
and I have not failed to accord it due preservation, 
for the inspection and satisfaction of my curious, as 
well, perhaps, as for the conviction of my incredulous 
friends. 

Dover is quite a small village : the township six or 
seven miles long, and nearly the same in width : its 
eastern boundary is the State of Connecticut, where 
it is hilly, as also to the west ; but the centre is a re- 
markably fine and fertile plain, watered by several 
streams, and well rewarding the labour of the agricul- 



178 HARTSVILLE— ,SAot»////y, 

torist. Tn the course of the clay we found a number 
of choice plants, flowers, and minerals, and some of 
the finest and most curious specimens of moss I ever 
met with. 

'J'he shades of evening were drawing on ere we took 
our departure for Hartsville, and I may almost say 
that we travelled by starlight, such was the irradiating 
brilliancy with which they shone : nothing can sur- 
pass the purity of the atmosphere in this county : I 
have seen skies and sunsets of the richest beauty and 
splendour, such as England never knows; such as the 
favoured land of Italy may equal, but not outvie; the 
concurrent testimony of those who have seen both. 

On several other days, or parts of days, one of our 
party and myself were occupied in perambulating the 
neighbouring country with our guns. We met with 
little other game than woodcock, which, had we been 
provided with a brace of good English pointers or set- 
ters, would have afforded us excellent diversion : as it 
was, we killed a considerable number. My friend 
was more successful than myself, owing in part, per- 
haps, to the situations in which we found the birds, 
chiefly amongst Indian corn, and to which he had 
learned better to accommodate himself It frequently 
grew so high, and so far out-topped me, that I often 
heard the rise of a bird within ten yards of me, with- 
out seeing any thing of it, and could only get sftap 
sJwfs at best. The few quail which we saw were un- 
comriionly wild : in fact, between buck-wheat, w^hich 
is a very favourite resort, and Indian corn, it was 
almost impossible to get them on the wing. The best 



Remarks, ^c. 179 

month for shooting here is November : it is usually 
very fine: the corn is all gathered, and the game has 
nearly attained its full growth, so as to be strong 
enough, whether on wing or foot, to give it a chance 
for its life, and the battu system has no attractions for 
me. All the diversion which I could ever discover 
attaching to shooting, consists in anticipation, in pur- 
suit, in the excitement of seeking and finding the 
game : there can be none in the mere killing, except 
as undeniable evidence of a good shot, an attainment 
few ambitious of such distinction, with moderate self- 
possession and practice, need despair of; but the 
exercise, which persons in general would never take 
without the accompanying stimulus of dog and gun, 
is worth all the rest put together. Whoever designs 
to sport here, though as I have said it will bear no 
comparison with English shooting, should take care to 
provide himself with good dogs; they are scarce, and 
frequently sell for extravagant prices. I should think 
a cargo of tliem would answer better than many an- 
other shipment. I know not what amount of commis- 
sions in this way I was favoured to receive ; certainly 
more than T either promised or should find it very con- 
venient to execute. 

Upon these and other occasions during my visit 
at Hartsville, or Cottage, I had an oppor- 
tunity of seeing a good deal of the soil, agriculture, 
&c. of the county, and of any part of the State in 
which I have been — and I think I have been in the 
best — upon the whole, as a farmimg situation, I must 
now say I should give a decided preference to this. 
q2 



180 HARTSViLLE Fa'rmhg Journal. 

It has been long settled, and to a considerable extent 
is well cleared and drained — the roads are good — the 
climate remarkably fine — rather more temperate than 
any other on the Hudson — and, not a trifling recom- 
mendation, the water is excellent, which cannot be 
said of that of any of the Western Counties, as I have 
but too frequently had occasion to notice. — I might 
mention other inducements — or which so appear to 
me — but opinions differ, and some, I have no doubt, 
would think the western part of the State greatly 
preferable. 

The county of Dutchess, or Duchess, extends about 
thirty-eight miles along the Hudson. Its area is 725 
square miles, or 464,000 acres. To the east and 
north-east it is mountainous, but for the most part the 
land is very finely diversified with hill and dale. Its 
quality is various, between sand, sand and loam, and 
some clay. It is watered chiefly by small springs 
and streams, which are very numerous, and there is 
abundance of good timber for all necessary purposes. 

There is but a i^mall proportion of land in the 
county that may not be converted to the raising of 
grain, though, perhaps, in general, not more than 
one-sixth is under the plough at a time. The produce 
of all the different kinds of grain is much as in Long 
Island, and the prices very little lower ; and, though 
fruit is not grown, as there, for the New York market, 
it is the opinion of those to whom I have mentioned 
the subject, that it might be, to a very good account. 
Apples, for cider, are extensively cultivated. 

[Mem. — From eight to ten bushels of apples will 



Farming Journal. 181 

yield thirty gallons of juice. The value of good 
sweet cider in New York, in the summer months, is 
from 3 to 5 dollars per barrel. The barrel (new) 
costs Sl\ cents ; freight to New York, 20 cents. The 
cartage from the different parts of the county to the 
river varies, of course, with distance, from 6 cents to 
40 cents — When the fruit is purchased, what is called 
yrafted cider fruit (in contradistinction to the natural 
or indigenous) is from 15 to 40 cents a bushel. Table 
fruit, from 25 to 50 cents, and the natural fruit from 
6 to 12 cents.] 

Wool is considered as the staple produce of the 
county, and there has been grown this year about 
400,000 lbs. : the price from 50 to 60 cents a pound. 
The quality is generally fine, averaging about 31bs. to 
the fleece. 

Some flax is raised in the county : price of the seed 
125 cents, per bushel ; of the flax, cleaned, 12f cents 
a pound. Both yard manure and plaster are much 
used ; the latter article in the quantity of 200 pounds 
to the acre ; cost on the land 50 cents per acre. Some 
quantity of manure is also obtained from the swamps, 
&c. 

Fallowing is but little practised, though, by good 
farmers, the system is quite approved of. 

Wheat is generally sown after a summer crop of 
oats or barley. 

Farms, in Dutchess County, are to be purchased 
at from 30 to 60 dollars per acre; much, as elsewhere, 
depending upon situation, &c. 

But little land is rented. 



182 HARTSviLLE Farming Journal . 

The halving syslem is practised to a limited extent, 
as in Oneida Coimty. 

Labourers' wages the same as in Long Island. 

The fences consist of stone and wood: the expense 
of raising them estimated at from 50 to 70 cents a 
rod. 

Excepting two or three turnpikes, which are not 
here " the King's highways," but belong to private 
companies, the roads are repaired by the inhabitants : 
cost to the farmer about 5 dollars per 100 acres per 
annum. 

Dutchess County is well and respectably popu- 
lated; the inhabitants chiefly of English and Dutch 
extraction. Its trade and manufactures are consi- 
derable, and in a very thriving state. No mines are 
in working; but iron, and lime-stone, and marble are 
found in the county. 

The usual times of seed time and harvest, through- 
out the State (varying, as in England, a week or 
two in different parts) are as follow, namely: — Wheat 
is sown the latter end of September, and cut in 
July : — Barley the latter end of April, and cut in 
July: — Oats the latter end of April, and cut in 
August: — Indian Corn is planted about the middle 
of May, in the quantity of one peck to the acre, or 
four grains to the hill, in hills three and a half feet 
apart, and gathered in October. 

The Farm Houses in general are smaller than 
in England, and built of wood; the cost of a good 
one, to erect it, would be from 1,500 dollars to 2,500 
dollars. To Enulish taste there is a sad want of 



Furm'nuj Juurnalj S^c. 183 

neatness observal)le about them, and even where the 
establishment is upon an extensive scale, they will 
be found, in this respect, to fall many degrees below 
what we are accustomed to see, the occupier being- 
merely a tenant, and not, as is nearly always the 
case here, the 'proprietor : — as to gardening-, laying- 
out ground, &c., with the idea of embellishment, 
'tis out of the question. "Here," say the Americans, 
"the English miss it when they come to this country 
— these things don't pay.'' 

The State taxes are levied agreeable to the real 
and personal estate of individuals by officers ap- 
pointed for the purpose, any one having the pri- 
vilege of correcting^ the amount, by affidavit made 
at a seasonable time after assessment: — the rate is 
usually in the proportion of one dollar upon one 
thousand dollars. It is paid annually to one com- 
mon collector, and includes all that is ever required 
in this way, except a military charge or service, 
which does not apply to foreigners, and a general 
tax in time of war. As to tithe, I dare hardly allow 
the word to be seen in my journal. 

Upon the very important subject of emigration — 
referring to farmers — so much depends upon situa- 
tion, and circumstances in life, previous habits, cha- 
racter, disposition, constitution, and numberless other 
things, that I would rather be excused giving an 
opinion either pro or con. Thousands who come 
over, return, to my knowledge, dissatisfied, but more 
remain, and the majority, after a few years' residence, 
appear to prefer this country to England. I would 



181 HARTSVILLE— TO FOUGHKEEPSTE 

by no means represent farming, in the State of 
New York, as a lucrative undertaking-; in the ordi- 
nary way of following the pursuit, and taking the 
State generally, it will not return more than seven 
or eight per cent.; but there is a wide difference 
between even that and sinking the capital, as the 
mass of farmers with us have latterly been doing. 

Upo7i coming, however, one thing T would especially 
recommend to all — to see different parts of the State, 
and make due investigation before settling any where. 
The common error of disappointed emigrants, next 
to that of raising their expectations too high before 
starting, seems to have been that of deciding too 
soon after arrival. 

I have endeavoured, as opportunity has admitted, 
to collect, and state facts ; let parties form their own 
judgment. 

September I8th. — On this morning I left Cot- 
tage for Poughkeepsie, to which place I was accom- 
panied by several of my kind friends, and from 
thence by some of them down the Hudson to New 
York. We had a delightful ride; but the i^iver 
named, every thing that can enchant in scene and 
scenery at once presents itself to the mind ; T think 
it even charmed me more than on the first day I 
witnessed it, and I envy not the taste of those who 
can ever survey it without feelings of the highest 
gratification ; still less of any (and those there are) 
w ho can exist in a land, and almost on the spot where 
such beauties are to be contemplated, and yet have 
to acknowledge that they hare never gazed upon 



AND NEW YORK. 185 

them ! I should have thouglit myself repaid lor 
crossing the Atlantic to have passed once up and 
down this river, in the North America steam-boat. 
How well I have been repaid by all I have seen, I 
can much more readily feel than express. We 
landed at New York at eight in the evening, having 
been just six hours in accomplishing the seventy-five 
or eighty miles. 



NEW YORK General allusions, ^'c. 

And here, having arrived again, as it were, at my 
starting-post, and completed (or with but little varia- 
tion) the tour I designed to myself on setting out, let 
me indulge in a few general allusions to the country 
through which I have travelled, gathered, where time 
has forbid me the re^search, from sources on which I 
can rely, with such further consecutive remarks and 
observations as may chance to occur to me. 

And first, to speak of the size, boundaries, &c., of 
the State of New York, I may observe : — Its greatest 
extent from north to south is 304 miles, and from east 
to west 316, exclusive of Long Island. It is bounded 
on the north by latitude 45, or Canadian line, the 
river St. Lawrence, and Lake Ontario ; on the west 
by the Niagara river and part of Lake Erie ; on the 
the south by the States of Pennsylvania and New 
Jersey, and the Atlantic Ocean ; and on the east by 
Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. The area, 
exclusive of all large waters, is computed to be 43,214 
square miles, or 27,656,960 acres. It is divided into 



186 NEW YORK General allusions, ^c. 

fifty six counties, and contained at tlie lust census ol 
1825. a population of 1,617,488, but at the present 
time there can be little doubt that it equals 2,000,000, 
exclusive of foreii^ners, not naturalized. 

The Capital of the State is Albany, although greatly 
inferior in consequence to New York ; and many of 
the towns which are now springing- up along the lino 
of the Erie Canal, bid fair soon to surpass it in point 
of size and population — of these I may particularly 
notice Buffalo, Rochester, and Utica. 

As may be supposed, the Face of the Country 
varies much, but I would make this general remark, 
that, though in extent not quite so large as England, 
it must be borne in mind that it forms the part of a 
mighty continent, where every thing appears upon a 
scale of correspondent greatness, and although none 
of its loftiest mountains are situated in this State, yet 
there are many that vie with our highest hills, and, 
excepting some counties, in place of the gentle un- 
dulations which the surface of England chiefly pre- 
sents, are bold swells, and extensive plains and flats, 
vast forests and swamps, and in various districts much 
rugged and rocky land. — Its rivers, its lakes, and its 
cataracts are numerous, and several of them of the 
most grand and gigantic character. 

The principal Mountains are the Kaatsberys or Cat- 
skill mountains — generally considered a branch of the 
Alleghany or Apallachian range, which extend from 
Maine to Georgia ; these, in Greene County, rise 
boldly to an elevation of near 4,000 feet. " Next are 
the Mattewan mountains, or Highlands of the Hudson, 



NEW YORK General allusions, ^c. 187 

the Helderbergs, the Shaiuangunk mountain, and the 
Taghkanick mountain, in some sort of connexion. 
The great primitive region of the north, embracing 
the mountainous ranges west of Lake Champlain, 
comprises the Kayaderosseros. mountain, Palmertown 
mountain, and the Sacandaga range of Saratoga 
county ; the mountains about Lake George and 
Champlain, known, in part, by many local names. 
It embraces also the Royal Grants, the Little Falls, 
and Anthony's JK^ose, of the Mohawk country ; the 
Klipse, and many others. Tlie Chantauqae Ridge is 
a strong feature of the south-west angle of this State, 
in the Lake country, as is the Grand Plateau, or great 
table land of the south-west of New York, and the 
north-west of Pennsylvania." 

The chief Rivers are the Hudson, the Niagara, the 
Mohawk, the Black and Genesee rivers. Of these the 
Hudson takes the precedence. It rises in the high 
mountainous region on the W. of Lake Champlain, in 
numerous hi'anches that spread over the S.W. of Essex 
and the N. of Hamilton county, and pursues a course 
almost due south for 300 miles, receiving in its way 
various tributary streams, and emptying itself into 
the Bay of New York. From its mouth to the city 
of Hudson, a distance of about 120 miles, it is navi, 
gable for the largest ships, and for sloops to Albany. 
" I'he combined action of the tides, arriving in the 
Hudson by the East River and the Narrows, at dif- 
ferent periods, carries the swell upward at the rate of 
fifteen to near twenty-five miles an hour; and this cir- 
cumstance clearly evinces a high superiority of oceanic 



188 NEW YORK General allusions, S^c. 

iiitluence in the Hudson. Swift sailin*^ vessels, leav- 
ing New York at young flood, have repeatedly run 
through to Albany with the same flood tide." There 
is no brackish taste in the water, that I could discover, 
and I bathed in it, as high up as Newburgh, (sixty 
miles,) though it is said to be sometimes perceptible 
at Poughkeepsie. In addition to the splendour of its 
scenery, already noticed, the facilities which this 
river atibrds for the navigation of steam-boats and 
other vessels, are of paramount importance, and have 
greatly contributed to the prosperity of the State. 

The Kiagara River, connecting Lake Erie with 
Ontario, I have had previous occasion to speak 
of. 

The Mohawk, a large western branch of the Hudson 
river, rises in the north-east of Oneida county, flows 
through Herkimer, Montgomery, and Schenectady 
counties, and enters the Hudson in different streams 
between Troy and Waterford ; the whole length of 
its ourse is 130 to 135 miles. "The stream of Mo- 
hawk is unequal, with many breaks and rapids, and 
there are two flills of forty-two and near seventy feet ; 
the Liltlc Falls and Cahoes, (the latter near its con- 
fluence with the Hudson,) besides another small one 
at the German Flats.'* A great proportion of land 
along the Mohawk is very fine and productive. 

The Black River, so called from the colour of its 
water, rises near the centre of Herkimer county, and 
pursues a northerly course of about 120 miles, when 
it falls into the Lake Ontario. 

The Genesee River rises on the great table land of 



NEW YORK General allusions, t^c. 189 

Western Pennsylvania, and flows northerly through 
the counties of Alleghany, a small part of Genesee, 
and through Livingston and Monroe counties, enter- 
ing Lake Ontario a few miles below Rochester. Its 
course in the State of New York is about 12o miles. 
It has several considerable falls, amounting, together, 
to no less than 476 feet. The flats bordering this 
river are justly celebrated for their great fertility, 
though, as I have said, I think they are equalled in all 
respects by those of some other parts of the State. 
Besides these there are a multitude of creeks and other 
rivers : several very important streams have also their 
sources in this State, as the Delaware, the Susqueharma, 
the Alleghany, &c. It may be superfluous to add that 
most of them abound with excellent fish of different 
kinds — shad, salmon trout, sturgeon, bass, &c. 

The Lakes are little less numerous than the rivers — 
Lake Erie and Ontario I have sufficiently noticed, 
though only a small part of the former and about half 
of the latter is in the State of New York. Lake 
Champlain, to the north-east, is also about half in the 
State. Lake George is an arm of Champlain, and 
wholly within the State. There are besides, Seneca, 
Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, Ostego, and Chautauqua, 
in counties of the same name. — Canandaigua, in 
Ontario county; Crooked Lake, in Yates county; 
and Skaneateles, in Onondaga county ; with many 
others. 

In addition to the Erie, there is the Champlain 
canal, opening a water communication between the 
Hudson and the St. Lawrence, through the Lake 



190 NEW YORK General aUnsions, ^c. 

Champlain, and also with the Erie canal, near its 
junction with the Hudson. Its entire length is sixty- 
three miles. It was commenced in June, 1818, and 
finished in September, 1825. 

The principal Islands are Long Island, New York 
or Manhatten Island, Staten Island, and many small 
ones in the bay of New York, of which Governor's is 
the largest ; and the islands of the East river. The 
Hudson has several small islands, but too trifling to 
require notice. 

Under the head of the Mineral Productions of the 
State, " may be classed, iron ores, gypsum, salt, water 
lime, common limestone, the mineral waters of Sara- 
toga, roof slate, marble, marl, peat, and a great variety 
of clays. The iron ores of Lake Champlain and the 
Highlands are very rich and abundant. Gypsum and 
water limestone are mostly in the western part of the 
State. The salt springs, principally in Onondaga 
county, are also diffused over a wide extent in the 
western counties. Limestone is found in almost every 
part of the State." Roof slate and marble chiefly in 
counties east of the Hudson, and marl in various 
parts. 

Some indications of coal have been observed, but 
no considerable bed has yet been discovered. This 
deficiency, however, is pretty well supplied by the 
mines of other States, though the quality is greatly 
inferior to the English coal. 

With respect to Soil and Agriculture, having 
frequently referred to them, I shall not enlarge 
here. 



NEW YORK General allusions, ^c. 191 

The subject to which I shall next advert is the 
Climate, and as EuroiDcans generally are apt to 
attach considerable importance to it, perhaps I may 
be allowed to speak of it rather more particularly. 

Between the New and the Old World there are 
several striking differences; but the most remarkable 
is the general predominance of cold throughout the 
whole extent of America : various reasons have been 
assigned for this, and much ingenious speculation in- 
dulged in. The following hypothesis of the learned 
Dr. Robertson appears to me as probable as any ; — he 
observes, " Although the utmost extent of America 
towards the north be not yet discovered, we know that 
it advances nearer to the Pole than either Europe or 
Asia. The latter have large seas to the north, which 
are open during part of the year, and even when 
covered with ice, the wind that blows over them is less 
intensely cold than that which blows over land in the 
same latitude. But in America the land stretches 
from the River St. Lawrence to the Pole, and spreads 
out immensely to the west. A chain of enormous 
mountains covered with snow and ice runs through all 
this dreary region. The wind, passing over such an 
extent of high and frozen land, becomes so impreg- 
nated with cold, that it acquires a piercing keenness, 
which it retains in its progress through warmer cli- 
mates, and is not entirely mitigated until it reacli 
the Gulf of Mexico. Over all the continent of North 
America, a north-westerly wind and excessive cold 
are synonymous terms. Even in the most sultry 
weather, the moment that the wind veers to that 



192 NEW YORK General allusmis, S^'c. 

quarter, its penetrating influence is felt in a tran- 
sition from heat to cold, no less violent than sudden." 

The State of New York partakes of this general 
feature, but has still its local characteristics, and the 
climate varies considerably in different counties. 
Thus, for a distance of 100 miles immediately up 
the banks of the Hudson, where the tide and sea 
air have an influence, vegetation is commonly ten 
days to a fortniglit earlier than in other parts of 
the State, excepting the west. "In the northern 
part, the weather is less variable; the winters longer 
and more severe, with a clear and settled sky. This 
region extends from the southern extremity of Lake 
George, westward to the St. Lawrence and Lake 
Ontario, as well as the counties bordering its southern 
shore, and may be distinguished as the northern cli- 
mate. The western climate comprises the country 
extending from Oneida lake to Lake Erie. Here 
south-westerly winds prevail a large portion of the 
year : smaller showers collect more frequently, and 
gales of wind are much less common. A gentle 
current of air sets almost constantly from the south- 
west, and north-easterly winds are almost unknown. 
In this region the average temperature is about three 
degrees higher than in similar latitudes in the 
eastern climate." 

In order to convey a better idea of the weather 
and temperature prevalent in this country, as con- 
trasted with our own, I have endeavoured to ascer- 
tain its character throughout the different months 
and seasons of the year; thus, Spring — (including 



NEW YORK General allusions, S^c. 193 

March, April, and May) — the commencement of 
March similar to January in England — raw and dis- 
agreeable — first appearance of vegetation about the 
latter end of March. April, chilly and damp ; to- 
wards the end becoming more pleasant. May, much 
like June in England. — Summer — (including June, 
July, and August) — the temperature ranges say from 
the 1st of June, from 60° to 80° Fahrenheit through 
the month, then varying from 75° to 85°, perhaps for 
a few days 90°, or more, in the shade, through July 
and August, with occasional violent thunder-storms. 
— Autumyi — (including September, October, and No- 
vember) — September, fine, excepting one or two severe 
storms about the Equinox. October and November, 
fine, dry, clear weather, with cool mornings and even- 
ings ; slight frosts, and, perhaps, towards the end of 
November, a little snow. — Winter — (including De- 
cember, January, and February) — December com- 
mences cool, gradually increasing to cold, with heavy 
falls of snow, often lying several feet deep. January 
— the middle — extremely cold — thermometer some- 
times standing at 12° Fahrenheit, or 20° below freezing 
point. The cold continues excessive until the latter 
end of February, when it generally moderates, and 
thaws, and damp weather succeed. 

It is observed that there is a much greater variation 
in the seasons than formerly, and it may be expected, 
as the country becomes more drained and cleared 
of its forests, the temperature will be also more 
moderate. 

But, after all, I am not inclined to regard the cli- 



194 NEW YORK General allusions, ^e. 

mate as presenting those obstacles or objections to a 
residence in the country which some do, and think 
the eftects frequently ascribed to it, if they are not 
dependant upon other causes, might at least be greatly 
mitigated by a due attention to those simple but im- 
portant matters, often altogether disregarded, and 
seldom sufficiently observed, viz. temperance, in every 
sense of the word, cleanliness, and exercise. Indivi- 
dually I can say that I landed in New York after an 
unusually cold passage, in the month of July last, the 
height of their summer, and a hotter summer than 
had been known for years, when the complaining of 
heat and indisposition was general; that I have sub- 
sequently travelled, first and last, nearly 1500 miles 
in the country, never, in consequence of the weather, 
having confined myself a single hour to the house ; 
and that I have had nothing like illness throughout. 
The greatest annoyance I have experienced (and great 
it has been) has proceeded from bugs and musquetoes, 
the former especially. Opposed to this, however, I 
know there were instances of Englishmen coming 
over and wishing to return by the next sailing vessel ; 
and one of these, with whom I am acquainted, was so 
grievously incommoded by the heat during the day, 
that at night, to refresh himself, he had recourse to 
the singular expedient of taking a boat, having pre- 
viously reduced his clothing even to the extreme of 
republican toleration, and, with his hands depending 
in the water on either side, was rowed about to woo 
from the bosom of the Hudson the gentle zephyrs, in 
the absence of the sun's rays. And here I leave the 



NEW YORK General alliuions, ^c. 195 

gentleman and the climate to the kind consideration 
of the reader, and proceed to say a {e\\ words on the 

Government. — A Government which, in the short 
space of half a century from the issuing of their ever 
memorable Declaration of Independence, in 1776,* 

* Only one of the distinguished individuals who signed this docu- 
ment is now in existence, namely, Charles Carroll, Esq., and hap- 
pening to meet with a description of, what I esteem, a most inte- 
resting interview, which lately took place between himself and two 
American gentlemen, I could scarcely feel satisfied without giving 
it to the reader; expressing the hope, however, that the enthu- 
siasm with which they regarded this relic of departed patriots, may 
have contributed not a little to induce a comparison less favourable 
to their statesmen of the present day than they really deserve. 
At all events, it is given as I found it. 

" Charles Carroll. — This venerable representative of a former gene- 
ration, now in the ninety-third year of his age, and which he has 
almost completed, is in the full enjoyment of most of the faculties 
which appertain to the meridian of life. 'During a recent journey 
to the south,' observes the writer, ' I was fortunate enough to fall 
into the company of a respectable merchant at Baltimore, a parti- 
cular friend of Mr. Carroll, by whom I was introduced to the ' time 
honoured' patriot. As we entered his parlour, Mr. Carroll rose to 
salute us with the customary compliments, and offered chairs with 
almost as much ease and firmness as a man of fifty. His appearance 
indicated a high degree of health, which he affirmed he enjoyed 
without interruption. His under dress was a brown broad cloth ; 
his waistcoat of the fashion of the last century. He wore no coat; 
but a gown of the same material as the waistcoat and smallclothes- 
His hair was of a silvery whiteness — his teeth apparently perfect — 
his eyes animated and sparkling, though, as he stated, they had be- 
come too dim for him to read. His sense of hearing did not seem 
to be in the least degree impaired. He spoke with ease, articulated 
with uncommon distinctness, and his voice possessed all the clear- 
ness of vigorous manhood. He seemed to be pleased with his 
friend for having introduced a stranger, and to be delighted in 
answering all our interrogatories respecting the incidents and the 
individuals to which he had sustained an interesting relation in the 
earlier part of his life. He spoke often of Jefferson, Hancock, the 
Adamses, and other members of the Congress of Seventy-six; but he 
seemed to take especial delight in talking of Dr. Franklin, whom 
he described as one of the most pleasing and fascinating men he 



196 NEW YORK General allusions, ^c. 

however some of the jura divina tribe of other 
lands have been disposed to treat it, and whatever 
be its ultimate destiny, has already witnessed more 

had ever known. He remarked that he and Franklin were com- 
missioners to visit Canada, and endeavovir to induce the inhabitants 
of that province to join the other colonies in declaring themselves 
independent of the mother country; and that the journey, though 
beset with difficulties and over bad roads, and sometimes through 
forests where there was no road, was rendered comparatively plea- 
sant and agreeable by the wit and good humour of Dr. Franklin. 
He related many anecdotes of the Doctor illustrating these distin- 
guishing traits in his character, and which made him a welcome 
and even a favourite companion in the politest circles of Paris. 
There was nothing in Mr. Carroll's manners or conversation that 
indicated the existence of that species of egotism which is usually 
the besetting infirmity of old age ; and though he related in half 
an hour more anecdotes than we could write down in half a day, he 
was in no instance, that we recollect, the hero of his own story. — 
His reminiscences were of the mighty dead, and his commendations 
were bestowed with unlimited generosity on his cotemporaries who 
had gone before him to receive the ' recompense of reward,' and 
left him, as it were, to speak their epitaph. 

" Mr. Carroll appeared to feel a lively interest in the ordinary 
topics of conversation ; made several inquiries of his friends re- 
specting political affairs, the prospect of business, and the progress 
of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad; and asked me many questions 
respecting Boston, its population, improvements, &c. He spoke 
more than once of the great invention of machinery for saving 
labour, of the improvements in the mode of travelling, and ex- 
pressed a regret that ttie family of Robert Fulton had not been for- 
tunate enough to obtain a greater share of the benefits resulting 
from his improvements in application of steam to navigation. He 
alluded several times to his own great age — attributed that as well 
as his health to the regularity and temperance he had always ob- 
served in his mode of living; said that some people thought he 
would live to be a hundred years old; but added, with a smile, that 
it was not his desire to live so long, unless his mental and physical 
faculties could be retained, which he could not expect to retain 
much longer. When we rose to leave him, Mr. Carroll walked 
down stairs with nearly as much elasticity of limb and firmness of 
step as either of his visitors. The time we spent with this delightful 



NEW YORK General allusions, &;c. 197 

rapid advancement, and a greater increase of power, 
than was ever known in the infancy of any state, 
in ancient or modern times; and has given to the 
world a splendid spectacle of what may be accom- 
plished by a people united in a good cause and deter- 
mined to be free. 

All Legislative power is vested in a Congress of the 
United States, which consists of a Senate and House 
of Representatives. The House of Representatives is 
composed of members chosen every second year, by 
the people of the several States.* The Senate is com- 



old gentleman was short of an hour; but it was worth the fortnight 
we had then just wasted in the metropolis of the United States, 
where the lives of modern great men exhibit but few traits of cha- 
racter that entitle them to admiration, and their actions present but 
feeble claims to the gratitude of their countrymen. In the halls of 
Congress, or in the mansions of those who are elevated by the par- 
tiality of the people to places of power and dignity, one sees but 
little that can be remembered with real satisfaction, and is not un- 
frequently disgusted with much that he would take a pleasure in 
forgetting. 

" The patriotism of the present day — at least that sort of patriotism 
which is of the most approved stamp, and which passes current in 
the capitol — seems to consist altogether in personal attachment to 
men in office, and to have no higher aim than the attainment of a 
place; its 'dirty assiduities are all levelled at the' treasury. 

" But he who visits Charles Carroll will perceive in the sole sur- 
vivor of those who signed our Declaration of Independence, a patriot 
of an opposite character, and may look back on such an interview 
-as to one of the brightest spots oia the tablet of memory. The cha- 
racter of this reverend patriot we shall not attempt to portray ; its 
sublime simplicity we feel our incompetency to describe. Nor is it 
in the compass of our ability to express the emotions we felt when 
our hand was cordially pressed in that which, more than half a cen- 
tury ago, set its signature to an instrument that certified the birth 
of a nation, and placed on the declaration of our freedom the seal 
of eternity." 

* The State of New York returns thirty-four. 



198 NHw YORK General allusions, ^c. 

posed of two senators from each State, chosen by the 
legislature thereof, for six years. 

The Executive power is vested in a President of 
the United States, elected for a term of four years, 
together with a Vice-President, chosen for the same 
period. — Being desirous, however, to confine myself 
as much as possible to a single State of the Union, 
it would be foreign to enter into detail on the general 
Government, and I would briefly speak of that of the 
State of New York, which "in all its departments is 
either mediately or immediately representative, re- 
posing on the broad basis of the People, in whom 
exists an equality of Rights." 

" The constitution has consecrated as inviolable 
the following, imposing restraints on its abuse : — 

*'lst. No member of the State can be disfranchised, 
but by the law of the land, or the judgment of his 
peers. 

"2nd. The free use and enjoyment of religious pro- 
fession and worship is secured to all mankind. 

" 3rd. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus is 
inhibited from being suspended, except in cases of 
invasion or rebellion. 

"4th. No person can be held to answer for a capital 
or other infamous crime, but upon presentment or 
indictment of a grand jury, and counsel allowed to 
the accused. 

"5th. No person can be twice jeopardized for the 
same offence; can be compelled to give evidence 
against himself in a criminal case ; nor be deprived 
of life, liberty, or property, without legal process. 



NEW YORK General allusions, S^c. 199 

" 6th. Private property cannot be taken for public 
use without just compensation. 

" 7th. The right of freely speaking, writing, and 
publishing is secured, with ulterior responsibility for 
its abuse. 

" 8th. In libel prosecutions the truth may be given 
in evidence ; and if the matter published is true,— 
published with good intent and for justifiable ends, 
the defendant is to be acquitted. 

" 9th. The right to determine on the law and the 
fact is reserved for the jury.'* 

Inhibitions and Reservations. — To these articles it is 
added that the proceeds of all public lands, (with cer- 
tain specified exceptions,) of the Salt Springs, and 
some other revenues, shall be inviolably devoted to 
the completion of the canals, and the repayment of 
the moneys borrowed for that purpose, with the in- 
terest thereon ; the sale of the Salt Springs, and the 
establishment of Lotteries, are interdicted. 

" The powers of the Government are divided into 
Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary. The Legislature 
consists of two Houses, the Senate ^nd Assembly. The 
Senate consists of thirty-two Senators, who must be 
freeholders, elected for four years. The State is di- 
vided into eight Senatorial Districts, in each of which 
a Senator is elected every year, to supply the place of 
eight retiring members, who vacate their seats in the 
rotation prescribed by law. The Members of the 
Assembly are elected annually, and apportioned to 
the several Counties, in proportion to the number of 
inhabitants in each : every County to have at least 



200 NEW YORK General allusions, ^c. 

one ; and no new County to be established unless its 
population entitle it to a Member. A census to be 
taken every ten years. The two Houses of Legislature 
are each authorized to originate or amend bills. The 
assent of two-thirds of all the members elected for 
each House, is required to constitute a law for the 
appropriation of public money or property to private 
or local purposes, or for creating, continuing, or reviv- 
ing any corporation. No Member of the Legislature 
can receive any civil appointment from the Governor 
and Senate, or from the Legislature, during the time for 
which he was elected : nor can any Member of Con- 
gress, or person holding a judicial or military office 
under the United States, have a seat in the Legisla- 
ture. A Bill which has passed both Houses becomes 
a law, if approved by the Governor. If not approved, 
he may return it to the Legislature, with his objections; 
and if, upon reconsideration, two- thirds of the Mem- 
bers of each House present, agree to pass it, the bill 
becomes a law, as it does also if the Governor neglect 
to return it within ten days. 

" The Right of Suffrage is extended to every white 
male citizen of the age of twenty-one years, who shall 
have been an inhabitant of the State one year preced- 
ing the election, and for the last six months a resident 
of the town or county where he offers his vote, and 
■who shall, in the year next preceding such election, — 
1st, have paid a County or State tax, assessed upon his 
real or personal property ; or, 2nd, shall be by law 
exempt from taxation ; or, 3rd, being armed and equip- 
ped according to law^ shall have performed, in that 



NEW YORK General allusions, S^c. 201 

year, military duty in the militia of this State ; or, 4th, 
shall be exempt from doing: military duty, in conse- 
quence of being a fireman : and every white male 
citizen of the age of twenty-one years, who shall have, 
for three years next preceding such election, been an 
inhabitant of this State, and for the last year a resi- 
dent of the town or county where he may offer to vote, 
and shall have been assessed to labour on the public 
highway for the last year, and shall have performed 
the labour, or paid an equivalent therefor, according 
to law. — Exception. — But no man of colour shall be 
admitted to vote, unless he shall, for the last three 
years, have been a citizen of this State, and for one 
year preceding such election been seised and possessed 
of a freehold estate of the value of 250 dollars, and 
have paid a tax thereon. All persons of colour are 
exempted from taxation, unless so seised and pos- 
sessed. All elections are to be by ballot. Annual 
election, first Monday in November ; and the Legis- 
lature meets on the first Tuesday in January. The 
political year commences on the 1st January. 

" The Executive power is vested in a Governor, 
elected for two years, who is required to be a free- 
holder, a native of the United States, of the age of 
thirty years^ and a resident of the State for five years, 
unless absent during the time on business of this 
State, or the United States. He exercises the follow- 
ing powers : — 

'' 1st. He is General and Commander-in-Chief of 
the militia of the State, and Admiral of its navy. 



202 NEW YORK General allusions, S^c. 

'* 2nd. He convenes the Legislature, or the Senate 
only, on extraordinary occasions. 

" 3rd. He communicates by Message to the Legis- 
ture the condition of the State, and recommends such 
measures as he deems expedient. 

*' 4th. He is to take care to enforce the execution 
of the laws. 

*' 5th. He may grant reprieves and pardons after 
conviction, in all cases excepting for treason, in which 
he may suspend execution, in order to refer the case 
to the Legislature. 

" 6th. He nominates, and, with the consent of the 
Senate, appoints officers so designated to be appointed 
by the Constitution and laws, and commissions them ; 
and in like manner appoints Justices of the Peace, in 
cases of disagreement between the Judges of County 
Courts and the Supervisors. 

" 7th. He recommends to the Senate the removal of 

officers, stating his reasons ; and, in some cases, removes 

them himself, giving them an opportunity of defence. 

" 8th. He transacts all necessary business with the 

officers of Government, and the military. 

" 9th. He expedites all measures resolved upon by 
the Legislature. 

'* The Lieutenant-Governor is elected for the same 
term as the Governor. In case of an equality of votes, 
for either Governor or Lieutenant-Governor, the two 
Houses elect by joint ballot. If the Governor is im- 
peached, removes from office^ dies, resigns, or is absent 
from the State, the powers and duties of his office 



NEW YORK— — General allusions, ^c. 203 

devolve upon the Lieutenant-Governor, who is Presi- 
dent of the Senate, where he has only a casting vote. 

" The Judiciary is org-anized in regular gradation, 
from the Court for the Trial of Impeachments and 
the Correction of Errors, (which is constituted by the 
Senate, the Chancellor, and Justices of the Supreme 
Court,) to the Courts of Justices of the Peace of the 
several Counties. The Court for the trial of Impeach- 
ments and Correction of Errors, is the paramount 
tribunal of the State. It has original jurisdiction in 
all cases of impeachments preferred by the Assembly; 
and appellate jurisdiction in cases of appeal from the 
Court of Chancery, and from the Supreme Court on 
Writs of Error. Impeachments must be preferred by 
a majority of the Members of Assembly elected, and 
are limited to cases of mal or corrupt conduct of offi- 
cers. Convictions can only be had with the concur- 
rence of twQfc-thirds of the members of the Court then 
present. Judgments on impeachments can only ex- 
tend to removal from office, and disqualification to 
hold or enjoy any office of honour, trust, or emolu- 
ment under the State ; but the party convicted is still 
liable to indictment and presentment according to 
law. 

*•' The Chancellor is the sole Judge of the Court of 
Chancery. He has a universal jurisdiction in all 
cases of equity, either original or appellate ; on appeals 
from the equity side of the Circuit Courts ; and on 
appeals from the Surrogates of the several Counties- 
The Supreme Court is the highest court of civil or 
criminal iurisdiction at common law. It is constituted 



204 NEW YORK General allusions, ^c. 

by a Chief and two other Justices, any one of whom 
can hold the court : and they are authorized to hold 
Circuit Courts, and preside in courts of Oyer and 
Terminer, throughout the State. This court corrects 
all errors in cases from the subordinate courts, and 
has original jurisdiction in all common law cases, ex- 
cepting those in which exclusive jurisdiction has by 
law been given to inferior courts, on account of the 
small value of the matters in controversy. There are 
eight Circuit Judges, to each of whom a district is 
assigned, who exercise an Equity jurisdiction in their 
respective districts ; hold Circuit Courts, for the trial 
of issues from the Supreme Court; and, in the ab- 
sence of the Justices of the Supreme Court, preside in 
courts of Oyer and Terminer in their several districts. 
The Chancellor, the Justices of the Supreme Court, 
and the Judges of the Circuit Court, hold their offices 
during good behaviour, or till they attain the age of 
sixty years. Each County has a County Court, which 
is a Court of Common Pleas, and a Court of Sessions ; 
and a Surrogate's Court, which has jurisdiction in all 
testamentary intestacies, guardianships, and matters 
incidental thereto. Five Judges are appointed for five 
years, in each County Court, any three of whom hold 
the Sessions, or any one or more of them, in the ab- 
sence of the others, associated with Justices of the Peace, 
not exceeding five. All other j udicial officers. Justices 
of the Peace excepted, are nominated by the Gover- 
nor, and appointed by him, with the concurrence of 
the Senate. The Justices of the Peace are appointed 
by the separate nominations of the County Judges, 



NEW YORK General allusions, ^c. 205 

and the Supervisors of each County. If they accord, 
the appointment is of course : if not, the Governor 
selects the requisite number from the names on which 
they disagreed. The Sheriff, and Coroners in each 
County, are elected by the electors therein. An At- 
torney for the County, as prosecutor for the people, 
is appointed by the Judges of the County Court. 
The Secretary of State, Comptroller, Treasurer, At- 
torney-General, Surveyor-General, and Commissary- 
General, are appointed by the Legislature; the Adju- 
tant-General, by the Governor." 

I shall not enter into the Jurisprudence of the 
country, wishing to steer clear of labyrinths, although 
in this particular I might perhaps be in less dan- 
ger of losing myself than at home, for the law 
whereof the 7nemory of man runneth not to the con- 
trary, is exploded here, and a written or statute law 
substituted in its place : — The Americans, however, 
may be said to have based much of their statute law 
upon the common law of England. 

I have before spoken of Taxes ; exclusive of duties 
on foreign goods imported,^ (which, by the bye, is a 
United States tax,) to Enylishnen they are scarcely 

* In round numbers, perhaps I shall not be far wide of the mark 
in estimating the aggregate average of duty on foreign goods im- 
ported at about thirty per cent., and I must be allowed to pass a 
few observations upon the unpleasant consequences which fre- 
quently result to the consignor of goods to this country, in conse- 
quence of the method pursued in the collection of their duties, 
which is as follows:— In lieu of the consignee at once advancing 
the amount of duties in cash, he gives his own bond together with 
that of a friend for the amount, payable by equal instalments, at 
eight, ten, and twelve months; which, by a little contrivance, in 



206 NEW YORK General allusions, ^c. 

worthy of notice; and the Finances of the State, as 
well as the Union, are in a highly flourishing condi- 
tion ; in fact, the only fear of the holders of Govern- 
ment and State securities, yet unliquidated, in this 

the course of trade, soon furnishes him with a capital of one-third 
the value of his imports, and which is too often lost in hazardous 
speculations, or expended in wanton extravagance ; leaving the 
bonds unprovided for, except by making vise of the proceeds of the 
goods, which ought to be remitted to the consignor ; and, in case of 
insolvency, the American Government, in order to protect itself, 
gives the bond creditor a preference, to the prejudice of all others. 
I cannot better corroborate and exemplify this statement than by 
copying, verbatim et Ideratim, an advertisement, which an English 
merchant, a, particular friend of mine, had handed to him, the 
other day, from his correspondent at Charleston, whom he had 
intrusted with the collection of money for goods consigned to 
another person, to the amount of nearly £800, and which unwel- 
come annunciation is all the satisfaction he ever did, or, most pro- 
bably, ever will receive, and he preserves it as a memento of that 
llagrant injustice which every honourable mind must execrate, and 
which he grieves to think receives the protection of a Government, 
in many respects so worthy of admiration, and professing to be 
based upon the broad principle of justice between man and man, 
'J'he advertisement runs thus : — " Notice — Edward Brown, of 
Charleston, merchant, having assigned over to the subscriber all 
his outstanding debts, books of accounts, &,c. he informs the cre- 
ditors in general of the said Edward Brown, that the assignment is 
in his possession and ready for their examination, and calls upon 
such of them as are to receive dividends, after satisfaction to the 
preferred creditors, to render in duly attested statements of their 
demands within six months from the date hereof. 

(Signed) " O. L. Dobson." 

I would willingly hope that this odious blot upon the statute law 
of America, which gives a preference in cases of insolvency, will 
not be suttered much longer to disgrace its pages. — And whilst ad- 
vocating the cause of even-handed justice, there is another evil I 
would remark upon, namely, — the great want of an effective treaty 
between the British and American Goverriments for the capture, 
and return to their country, of those miscreants, who basely ab- 
scond with the embezzled property of their creditors, and the fre- 



NEW YORK -General allusions, Sfc. 207 

country is, that thei/ will be paid too soon, and not, as 
I am creditably informed is the case in a kingdom I 
could name, where the Debt is somewhat larger, that 
they ivill never be paid at all. The Salaries of all the 
Officers o{ Government are moderate ; altogether for the 
State of New York scarcely exceeding the pay of a 
British Ambassador at any of the principal courts of 
Europe ; and the stipends allowed to the members of 
both Houses of its Legislature are not equal to twice 
that sum. 

Large appropriations are annually made for public 
Schools, Roads, Bridges, &lq., and the encouragement of 
Arts, Sciences, and Literature. " The system devised 
for public instruction embraces the establishment by 
law of common schools, academies, and colleges. 
Townships are divided into a convenient number of 
parts, denominated School Districts, in each of which 
schools are kept, regulated according to law." 

The Militia constitutes the chief Military Strength 
of the United States, and consists of every free able- 
bodied white male citizen, between the ages of 
eighteen and forty-five, comprehending the different 
denominations of infantry, cavalry, and artillery. 
The method of appointing the officers is perhaps 
worthy of remark : — " The Major-Generals, Brigade 
Inspectors, and Chiefs of departments are nominated 

quency of which, by degenerate Englishmen, calls aloud for legis- 
lative interference. I can conceive wo objection on the part of the 
British Government to such a treaty, and any obstacle interposed 
by the American must detract from that estimation which its best 
friends would claim for it> and of which none more than myself 
would wish to see it deserving, 



208 NEW YORK General allusions, i^c. 

and appointed by the Governor, with the consent of 
the Senate. Brigadiers are chosen by the field 
officers of their respective brigades : the Command- 
ants of Regiments and Batallions, by the commissioned 
officers of their corps: the Captains, Subalterns, and 
Non-commissioned Officers, by the votes of their com- 
panies." 

Of course. New York has no exclusive Navy ; but 
the navy of the United States, since the close of the 
last war, has been progressively augmenting, and 
now maintains a formidable position in the scale of 
nations, whether we consider the size, the swiftness, 
and number of their vessels, the ability of their com- 
manders, or the valour of their men ; and though I 
hope the day may never arrive to interrupt the peace- 
able relations existing between America and Briton, 
and Britons neither can, nor ought, nor need, to fear ; 
let them not therefore despise, but, as prudence has 
been affirmed to be (I do not say that we should always 
rely upon the authority) the better part of courage, it 
behoves our Government not to overlook the advance- 
ment, towards maturity, of that force with which the 
'* half a dozen fir frigates, ivith bits of striped bunt- 
ing," (as a great man, in his very littleness, once 
termed it) would now contrast but insignificantly. 
I cannot dismiss this subject without further hoping 
that Mr. Brougham, the powerful advocate of justice 
to America, and who for years so nobly fought its 
battles in the British Parliament, will use his well- 
earned popularity in the States to bring about a still 
more cordial feeling, and a less restricted inter- 



NEW YORK General allusions, §*c 209 

course. — His Lordship will excuse my calling him 
Mr. Brougham — the appellation seems more familiar 
to me — I hate those ships by which the aristocracry 
contrive to smuggle talent and industry from the 
people, to the support of their order — these are the 
ships, after all, the most formidable to Briton — but I 
digress, and claim pardon. 

In the City of New York, and throughout the State, 
Banking Establishments are very numerous. Silver 
is the legal tender — but each of these banks issue their 
own notes from large amount down to five dollars.* 
I pretend to no familiarity with the monetary system, 
but it does appear to me that whilst we are absolutely 
foundering on the rocks of Scylla, they are going 
almost within hail of Charybdis ; — or, in other words, 
whilst our lawgivers, either ignorantly or unjustly, or 
both, have returned to gold payments, without a 
due regard to the monied obligations of the country 
and individuals, they have rather a profusion of 
paper. 

The legal Interest of the State of New York is 
seven per cent., but there are various modes of invest- 
ment by which more can be frequently obtained : 
many of the banks, however, will discount unexcep- 
tionable paper at, or even below, six per cent. — They 
keep their accounts in dollars (equal, at par, to four 
shillings and sixpence of our money) and cents, or 
one hundredth parts of dollars; and their Currency is 

* They were till lately allowed as low as one dollar, and great 
numbers of that amount still continue in circulation ; but any re- 
issue under five dollars is now prohibited. 



210 NEW YORK General allusions, ^c. 

the dollar, the half dollar, the quarter dollar, the 
tenth and twentieth of a dollar, in silver ; and the 
cent, in copper. The Spanish dollar is equally cur- 
rent, and is divided into one-half, one-quarter, one 
eighth, and one-sixteenth ; the one-eighth (or 12| 
cents) is also called a shilling; but in consequence 
of the more easy method of reckoning by decimals 
their own subdivisions are greatly preferred. 

In the extent of its Foreign Commerce, New York 
stands pre-eminent to any port of the United States, 
and, excepting those of London and Liverpool, is, 
perhaps, not surpassed by any in the whole world. 
It may be said to comprehend the foreign commerce 
of its own State, as well as much of others, and its 
inland traffic is also very great. 

The Manufactures of the State are various and 
thriving, as I have frequently noticed in passing 
along, but in the aggregate they do not, at present, 
vie with those of the Eastern States. 

The Post-office department appears to be under 
excellent regulations, and, for so infant a State, well 
conducted; of course, in despatch and some other 
respects, yielding to our own unrivalled establish- 
ment — which throughout reflects the highest credit 
upon the directors and the country; — the rates of 
postage are nearly the same. 

I do not know that it remains for me in this 
general, though very limited survey, to notice more 
than the Religion of the country, and the Character, 
Manners, and Customs of the people. — Of the^r^^, I 
may say, that although there is no established reli- 



NEW YORK General all asions, S^c. 211 

(jion, as we term it, all religions being free alike, and 
the conscience of every man amenable only to his 
Maker, yet I must confess, with regret, that I have 
too often witnessed an unbecoming degree of warmth, 
and party spirit and feeling, frequently not uncon- 
nected with politics, on this momentous subject ; a 
disposition to introduce it as a topic of general, and 
sometimes light conversation, and much divested of 
that conciliatory spirit, that reverence and humility, 
which, as they are its highest ornaments, are no less 
its distinguishing and vital essence. Far be it from 
me to judge any one : the foregoing remarks are 
forced upon me by what struck me, as an unpre- 
judiced stranger, as unpleasantly contrasting with 
much that I admired, and wholly without seeking for. 
I have no wish to enlarge, and shall merely observe, 
that the ministers of all denominations {Friends ex- 
cepted) are supported by the voluntary contributions 
of their respective flocks : — the odious, iniquitous, and 
unchristian extortion of Tithe, is unknown amongst 
them, nor can any priest or clergyman hold an office 
under the Government.* 

Upon the svih']ect of Character, &c., the shortness of 
my stay in the country necessarily precludes my 

* Whilst in Orange County, an elderl}' farmer, with whom I fell 
into chat, mentioned to me a rebuflF which a gentleman of thi? 
order experienced the other day on applying to President Jackson 
for an appointment to civil office. When introduced, the Presi- 
dent's first inquiry was after the nature of his present avocation, 
and being informed that he was exercising the profession of a 
Minister of the Gospel, he briefly replied, "Then, Sir, I have no 
thing better to offer you ; go, and faithfully discharge the duties of 
your calling," I cannot wish any trader in religion better success. 
T 



212 NEW YORK General allusions, ^c. 

adding much to the observations I have already made. 
I may just put down a fe^v particulars which have 
most arrested my attention. — In person the men are 
taller and less corpulent than the English; their 
complexions less clear and ruddy, often inclining to 
sallow; their hair, perhaps, evincing rather less dis- 
position to curl; and their noses generally more pro- 
minent. The women in appearance very nearly 
resemble our own : their cheeks may not, do not, dis- 
play quite so much of the lily and the rose, a matter 
with which the climate alone is chargeable ; but their 
figures are not wanting in elegance, or their features 
in animation and beauty. The latter, however, it has 
been observed, is of more premature decay ; and tran- 
sient as it is ever said to be, here seems indeed to fade 
too soon for such fair promise. 

The leading characteristics of the men are a love 
of enterprise and independence, an ardent pursuit 
after wealth, (which, in the absence of titles and all 
acknowledged distinctions of rank, constitutes a pri- 
mary contrast between individuals ;) and their Re- 
publican Constitution throwing all offices of Govern- 
ment open to them, many strive to attain pj-e-eminence 
in this way. 

The spirit for Electioneering is frequently carried to 
a reprehensible excess, producing dissensions and 
animosities, and making sad inroads into the harmony 
which ought to exist in a well-regulated society ; and 
attached as I am to a purely representative system, 
and frequent appeals to the opinions of the people, I 
have been almost tempted to wish that they were 



NEW YORK Meneral allusions, ^c. 213 

either not so perpetually occurring as they are here, 
or that they were conducted with a temper and feeling 
which resulted in less unpleasant consequences. But 
even this state of things, bad as it is, I do not hesitate 
to pronounce far preferable to the abandonment of all 
control over our legislators for a period of seven years, 
which leaves them at liberty to play the game of cor- 
ruption, regardless of the interests of their constituents, 
just at their pleasure. 

It cannot be expected that in the higher branches 
of Literature and the Classics, in the Arts and Sciences, 
the Americans stand upon a par with some of the 
European States, yet they have made great progress, 
and have latterly evinced a growing taste for these 
refinements ; and upon general subjects there are no 
people, taking them collectively, who are so well- 
informed. This I attribute, in a great measure, to 
their judicious system of education, and their free 
press, unshackled as it is by duties or censorship. This 
cheap and free press of America imparts to all a 
knowledge of every thing great and interesting which 
is passing in the world; and they are surprised when 
a foreigner is at a fault in any thing concerning 
themselves. 

In their habits of social intercourse they are easy, 
polite, and obliging, that is, in towns, and in the 
better circles of society : in the country, in this re- 
spect, they are oftentimes boorish in the extreme; not 
that I have not seen them abundantly surpassed by 
some of my own countrymen who have settled amongst 
them, and who, copying a blunt independence of 



214 NEW YORK General allusions, b;c. 

manner, have fallen into a vulgarity and a disregard 
to the common courtesies of behaviour, which ^evf 
Americans would practise, and which appear even 
the more disgusting from being deemed an acquisition, 
and worthy the effort of some study and application. 

As a virtue conspicuous and common to all, I may 
notice their genuine, disinterested hospitality, (the 
only kind deserving of notice,) which is exercised 
especially to strangers, almost as a thing of course ; 
and in humanity and generosity they yield to no 
other nation. They are ever ready in their contri- 
butions to purposes of charity, and as prompt to 
relieve distress and the unfortunate. Instances are 
frequent, when a brother or sister dies, leaving chil- 
dren, of the surviving relatives adopting them into 
their families, and treating them entirely as their own. 
"This," observes a writer, speaking upon the sub- 
ject, "is so common in America, that it meets with 
no praise, and is considered merely as the per- 
formance of the most ordinary duty, and requiring 
no effort." 

In the towns, luxury is carried to a great excess. 
It is said, indeed, that ''the struggle for rank be- 
tween different classes is productive of a very ruin- 
ous degree of ostentation, by increasing the expense 
of living, and altering the public opinion with 
regard to what constitutes easy circumstances, and 
a competent fortune. Still, however, the inferior 
classes of workmen entertain a higher opinion of 
themselves than elsewhere. They find the road to 
independence more practicable ; and as the price of 



NEW YORK General allusions, S^c. 215 

tlieir labour is high, their circumstances are easy, 
and they endeavour to throw uside, as far as pos- 
sible, every appearance of rusticity. They see all 
ranks of men engaged in business, and do not, 
therefore, account themselves degraded by being 
compelled to labour ; especially as they find their 
skill and industry sought after by others, while it is 
productive of affluence to themselves." Dress is 
much studied by all, and is esteemed as indispen- 
sable an appendage to the character of a gentleman 
as in the bon ton of either London or Paris, the 
fashions of which places may be said to prevail by 
turns. 

Perhaps I saw too little of female society to hazard 
an opinion upon it. I think, however, I shall not 
err in saying that the women in America are much 
less domestic in their habits than those, at least, in 
the middle ranks of life in England ; for which I 
must be permitted to think the men chiefly to blame. 
The almost exclusive attention which they every 
where pay to business and their public avocations, 
leaving the women too much to seek their own plea- 
sures, and hence their predilection for the inter- 
changing of visits amongst themselves — shopping — 
dress — music — novel reading, &c. I admit that 
many are more usefully and intellectually em- 
ployed ; but I must give them, I fear, rather as 
exceptions to, than as specimens of, the general cha- 
racter. The reserve and "icy propriety" which they 
evince also in mixed companies, and towards the 

other sex, and which appear so striking to Euro- 
t2 



216 NEW YORK — — General allusions, ^c. 

peans, are doubtless to be ascribed to the same 
cause.* The latter, however, has at least the good 
effect of checking- that sort of trifling and insincerity 
far too common with us, and which, however inno- 
cent and unexceptionable it may sometimes be, and 
is generally professed by those who practise it, is 
not unfrequently indulged in to a most culpable 
extent, and leads to consequences only to be repro- 
bated and deplored. Here there must be no equi- 
vocating, no douhle-entendering, in affairs of the 
heart; — where ladies are unused to joking, gentle- 
men are expected to be in earnest ; and in place of 
these matters lingering on for years, or any other 
indefinite period, as they do with us, one short 
month is often witness to their rise, meridian, and 
consummation, or decline, as the case may be. 

I do not wish to be unnecessarily severe upon tlie 
gentlemen ; but they must excuse my alluding to 
another custom, the renouncing of which would nut 
only add to their opportunities of associating with 

* A late writer, referring to this subject, makes the following 
observations : — ^" In place of that unreserved but innocent freedom 
of manners which forms one of the highest charms of polished 
society elsewhere, I must say that I seldom observed any thing in 
America but the most respectful and icy propriety upon all occa- 
sions when young people of different sexes were brought together.' 
Positively I never, during the whole time that I was in that country', 
saw any thing approaching within many degrees of what we should 
call a. flirtation; I mean that sedulous, exclusive attention paid to 
one person above all others, and which may by that person not be 
unkindly received. Without being called attachment, it often bor- 
ders so closely upon it that mere proximity and frequency of in- 
tercourse tend to sustain a lambent fire beneath, which may be 
fanned into a flame, or be allowed to expire, according as circum- 
stances upon further acquaintance prove suitable or otherwise." 



NEW YORK General allusions, ^c. 217 

the ladies, but surely could not fail to render them 
more fit and agreeable companions, — I mean that 
disgusting habit of smoJcing and chewing tobacco, 
and of nearly indiscriminate spitting. Much as I 
had heard of these practices, I was scarcely pre- 
pared to see them tolerated to the extent they are — 
even in respectable society. In the first circles, I 
am happy t9 add — T refer more particularly to the 
two latter — they are very much discontinued, and 
the sooner they are relinquished by all, and alto- 
gether, the better ; or, if there must be an exception, I 
would leave the sailor with his quid, and the old 
gentleman with his pipe, in the chimney corner : 
if they can draw a solace, real or imaginary, from 
such a source, let them freely, fully enjoy it; but 
for landsmen with luxuries enough and to spare, and 
upstarts with beardless chins, to smoke, and chew, 
and spit, and in the presence of ladies, too, fie! fie! 
I had surely forgotten myself when I said the gen- 
tlemen of America were polite and obliging ; in de- 
ference to their fair countrywomen I must claim a 
reservation here, and shall consider my title good 
and valid whilst tobacco, whether in smoke or solu- 
tion, is suffered for a moment to banish from the 
drawing-room, or any other room, "the, sex whose 
presence civilizes ours.'' — There is not, I think, so 
much disparity between the women resident in 
towns and those of the country as I noticed in 
speaking of the men; they, too, are willing to enjoy 
whatever of recreation and leisure their circum- 
stances may allow, and do not^ I must say, so 



218 NEW YORK General allusions, S^c. 

fully luirmonize with the character of "helps meet,'' 
as the good housewives of the old country. 

The domestic servants principally consist of coloured 
people, and emigrants from England, Ireland, &c. 
The native men, in particular, seem averse to servi- 
tude, and are rarely to be found in this capacity. 
The women are somewhat more ready to help out : 
but servants, whether white or black, native or foreign, 
entertain such notions of equality and independence 
as fit them but poorly for this station of life, and tend 
greatly to abridge the comforts of their employers. 
The white servants will not eat or drink with the 
coloured ; and sometimes in towns, and very often in 
the country, they are dissatisfied if not allowed to 
take their meals with the families, fare precisely the 
same, and be well paid into the bargain. Wherever 
this is the case I am not surprised at its being urged 
as a drawback against a residence in the country, but 
there are exceptions, and the increasing influx of emi- 
grants must gradually have the effect of lessening the 
evil complained of 

Pauperism is by no means unknown in the country, 
though I do not recollect having seen a beggar upon 
any occasion; and in a majority of cases where it 
exists, it may be traced to the too frequent use or 
abuse of ardent spirits ; a circumstance which the 
Americans themselves are now fully aware of, and are 
using laudable endeavours to remedy. 

Here I shall end this little digressional survey, 
which, imperfect as it is, I would fain hope may not 
be altogether uninteresting to my English readers; 



NEW YORK. 219 

and if these pages should be favoured with the perusal 
of any of my transatlantic friends, let them judge of 
me as one rather wishing to extenuate, than desirous 
of setting down aught in malice ; and if I have been 
guilty of error or misrepresentation in any thing 
I have advanced, I trust they will do me the justice 
to believe it wholly unintentional, and attribute it to 
the confined opportunities my hurried visit has afforded 
me of judging correctly. I can assure them that on 
a renewed and more extended intercourse and ac- 
quaintance, which it may probably be mine to enjoy, 
I shall be as ready to correct and explain as they can 
be to desire it ; and with this confession T willingly 
leave myself and the subject at the fair tribunal of 
their candour and liberality. 



It may be remembered that my last date of Septem- 
her 18, had landed me in New York, on my return 
from my tour, from whence I was designing to embark 
for England; but the vessel in which I had engaged 
my passage not leaving till a fortnight afterwards, I 
have had the pleasure of spending the interval amongst 
a circle of the kindest friends in the neighbourhood, 
and of seeing more of the city than I had an oppor- 
tunity of doing upon my first landing. The notice 
which I then purposely omitted I shall add now, 
claiming permission, as on former occasions, to refer 
for many particulars to the latest publications. 

The City of Neiv York is in lat. 40" 42', long. 
73'' 59'. It is situated at the south end of an island of 



220 NEW YORK. 

the same name,* at the conflux of the Hudson and 
East Rivers, extending- along the former upwards of 
two miles, and along the latter about four. Its width 
varies from half a mile to two miles, and its circum- 
ference may be from ten to twelve. It was founded 
by the Dutch in 1615, and then called New Amster- 
dam. In J 696 it was incorporated by the British. 
During the revolutionary war it was the great rendez- 
vous of the British fleet, and the frequent scene of 
hostilities between the contending parties; and in 
1776, a few days after its occupation by the British, 
it was set on fire by persons attached to the American 
cause, and one-fourth of the city consumed. From 
that period, or rather from the acknowledgment of the 
independence of the United States, its increase has 
been rapid and progressive : the number of its inha- 
bitants being then barely 20,000, and its present 
population amounting to little less than 200,000. 

"The streets of the ancient or lower part are irre- 
gular, many of them very narrow and crooked. 
The northern part has been more recently laid out, 
and with much better taste. Many of these streets 
are very spacious, run in right lines, and are inter- 
sected by others at right angles. The ground is 
now deprived of much of its original unevenness 
by digging away hills, and filling up valleys and 

* The island is fourteen and a half miles long, and from half a 
mile to two miles broad, and comprises what is termed the County 
of New York. It returns ten members to the Assembly of the State 
of New York, and three representatives to the Congress of the 
Ujiion. 



NEW YORK. 221 

marshes, and some considerable ponds of water. 
The quays and wharfs along the shores are far 
extended into the original waters, that almost sur- 
round the town. At present the surface has a gentle 
ascent from the Hudson and East Rivers, which ter- 
minates in a handsome central elevation that every- 
where overlooks its gently sloping sides, and com- 
mands a fine view on the right and left of the 
town, the rivers above named, and their crowds of 
shipping." 

Amongst the streets Broadway takes quite the 
precedence. It commences at the Batfery, at the 
extreme south-west point of the island, and runs 
through the centre of the city, along a height. of 
land, at about an equal distance from each river. 
It is three miles long, and about eighty feet wide. 
Here are many of the principal hotels, several 
churches, and a great variety of shops or stores, 
elegantly furnished with goods of every descrip- 
tion and from every nation. It is one of the most 
favourite resorts for citizens and strangers, and daily 
displays much beauty and fiishion. The next prin- 
cipal streets are Pearl-street and Wall-street. The 
former branches from near the centre of Broadway, 
on the east side, and winding through a populous 
part of the city, terminates at the Battery. It is 
almost entirely occupied with stores and counting- 
houses, and is a scene of great bustle and business- 
but the strange and unsightly practice of the mer- 
chants and storekeepers blocking up the causeways 
with bales, cases, and merchandise of various de- 



222 NEW YORK. 

scriptions, and frequently tlirowing into the centre 
the straw, shavings, &c. which have been used in 
packing the goods, not only detracts greatly from 
the appearance of the street, but renders it very un- 
pleasant, at all events to strangers, passing along it. 
Wall-street, commencing at the Tontine Coffee-house, 
East River, and continuing nearly in a straight line, 
crosses Pearl-street, and enters Broadway about a 
quarter of a mile from the Battery. In this street 
are situated the Exchange, Custom-house, most of 
the Banks, and many of the Brokers' and Insurance 
offices. Besides these, there are the Bowery, more 
spacious even than Broadway, Greenwich, Chatham, 
and Washington-streets, and several streets of nearly 
equal importance, with, of course, an infinity of 
others. 

Of the general want of uniformity in the style of 
building, the impression which, at first sight, forced 
itself upon me, has been by no means removed by 
further observation. Excepting in the best streets, 
you will rarely find more than a few houses together 
which much resemble each other; — one, perhaps, 
may be built of brick, a good substantial-looking four 
or five story house ; the next to it will probably be 
an old wooden one, of the moderate height of two 
stories, and 'tis well if it be not painted of various 
colours into the bargain; but the frequently occurring 
fires, and the prohibition against erecting a wooden 
house within the city, are gradually tending to re- 
move these defects, and in a few years will, no doubt, 
much improve its appearance 



NEW YORK. 223 

Of the Public Buildings, I shall pay the 6*//y 
Hall the justly merited compliment of a first notice. 
This is situated in a large open space, or park, as it 
is called, comprising about four acres of land, in the 
heart of the city, on the east side of Broadway. It 
is considered one of the most stately and elegant 
edifices in the Union. Its fronts and ends are of 
white marble, the rest of brown freestone. The 
whole length of the building is 216 feet, the breadth 
105, and the height, including the attic story, 66. 
The roof is covered with copper, has a marble balus- 
trade, and the centre is crowned by a handsome 
Cupola. In it are held the courts for the city and 
county of New York ; and here are kept all the prin- 
cipal offices a' so. Many of the rooms are superbly 
fitted up, and that for holding the Mayor's court 
contains portraits of Washington, of the different 
Governors of the State, and many of the most cele- 
brated Commanders of the Army and Navy of the 
United States. It was founded in 1803, and finished 
in 1812, at an expense of 500,000 dollars. I could 
not but regret, in inspecting this fine building, to ob- 
serve such disgraceful evidence of an odious national 
habit, before alluded to : the, otherwise, beautiful 
flights of stairs, landings, and the floors of the rooms, 
being completely covered and stained with tobacco 
spittle, and the noisome smell of which was percep- 
tible throughout the place. 

Next to the City Hall ranks the Exchange, in 
Wall-street, a very handsome structure, also of white 
marble. Its front is 114 feet, and its depth 150 feet, 



224 NEW YORK. 

The main body of the building is two stories high, 
besides the basement, and attic story. The ascent is 
by an ample flight of marble steps, to a well-propor- 
tioned portico, ornamented with Ionic columns, 27 
feet high, passing which you enter the Exchange. 
This is of an oval form, 85 feet by 55, and 45 feet 
high, surmounted with a dome, which supplies light 
to the place. From the Exchange are doors and pas- 
sages leading to a commercial reading-room, and 
numerous newspaper and other offices. Underneath 
the Exchange, &c., on the basement story, is the 
Post-office, and its appendages. From the attic story 
a flight of stairs leads to the cupola, where is the 
Telegraph, which communicates with that of the 
JVarrows, seven and a half miles distant. The height 
of the cupola above the attic story is sixty feet. The 
cost of the building, including the ground, was 230,000 
dollars. It was commenced in 1824, and completed 
in 1827. 

Amongst the Banks, situated in this street, I parti- 
cularly noticed the United States Branch Bank, an 
elegant white marble building, sixty feet in front.* 

The Custom-house is a four story brick building, 
but ill comporting with the magnitude of business 
transacted in it, or the general spirit of the place. 

" The Hospital is a large establishment in Broad- 

* There are at present no fewer than fifteen banking establish- 
ments in this city, exclusive of the Savings Bank, whose paper is at 
par, and several others, against which, in the Bank Note Table, 
published weekly, I observe such notices as the following: " Uncer- 
tain" — ^" Seventy per cent discount" — " No value" — ^" Broken"— 
and so on. 



NEW YORK. 225 

way, comprising also a Lunatic Asylum, and a Lying- 
in Hospital. It is erected on an area of 455 by 450 
feet, inclosed by a high brick wall. The building is 
of stone, stands on elevated ground, and commands 
an extensive view of the city. The annual expendi- 
ture of the institution is about 40,000 dollars, and the 
annual number of its patients from 140 to 180." 

" The Alms-house at Belle Vue, on the East River, 
is an elegant and costly establishment, exceedingly 
well endowed and regulated." 

" Columbia College, above the City Hall, was char- 
tered in 1 750, under the name of ' King's College.' 
The edifice and grounds attached are extensive. The 
College contains a Chapel, Lecture-rooms, Hall, Li- 
brary, Museum, and an extensive philosophical and 
astronomical apparatus. 

"The iN'ew York Institution (formerly an alms-house) 
stands behind the City Hall, on the north side of the 
Park ; is built of brick, three stories high, and a base- 
ment, 260 feet by 44. Its external appearance is 
rather forbidding, but the interior is richly stored with 
learning, learned men, and societies whose usefulness 
banish all recollections of the rusty appearance of the 
edifice, compared with the City Hall. Its apartments 
are occupied by the Literary and Philosophical So- 
ciety, the Historical Society, the American Academy 
of the Fine Arts, the Lyceum of Natural History, and 
the American Museum. The Historical Society has 
a library of 10,000 volumes." 

" The M'ew York Society Library, in Nassau-street, 



226 NEW YORK. 

was commenced in 1740, and at the revolution con- 
tained 3,000 volumes, which were destroyed, or taken 
away by the British troops. It was re-established 
in 1789, and now consists of about 20,000 vo- 
lumes, amongst which are many rare and valuable 
works.'' 

Though America abounds in Churches and Chapels, 
many of them fully equal to any of our modern 
edifices of this description, the venerable, the mag- 
nificent cathedrals, the immortal works of our Catho- 
lic ancestors, which so greatly embellish our own 
country, and which, whatever may have been the 
misapplication of them, one cannot still but admire, 
it is, of course, in vain to look for here. The church 
of the most antique appearance in New York is 
Trinity Church, in Broadway. "The first built upon 
this spot was in 1696. It was destroyed by the fire, 
before mentioned, in 1776, and the present struc- 
ture erected in 1788. It is of stone, in the Gothic 
style, modelled after the old one, and has a steeple 
198 feet high. It contains a chime of bells, the 
only one in the city, and an excellent organ. The 
Cemetery surrounding it is inclosed by a substantial 
and costly iron railing. No interments have taken 
place in this Cemetery for some years, owing to a 
law prohibiting sepulture within the populous parts 
of the city; but it has been ascertained by authentic 
records kept, that more than 160,000 bodies have 
been here deposited, (exclusive of the seven years 
of the revolutionary war, when no records were 



NEW YORK. 227 

kept,) an amount approaching to the present popu- 
lation of the city."* Amongst the monuments is 
one to General Hamilton, and one to Captain Law- 
rence, of the Chesapeake, the latter a broken column, 
as emblematical of his death, which occurred in an 
action with the British frigate Shannon. 

"St. Paul's Chapel is a superb structure, further 
up Broadway, near the Park. It contains a portico 
of the Ionic order, consisting of four fluted pillars 
of brown stone, supporting a pediment, with a niche 
in the centre, containing a statue of St. Paul. 
Under the portico is a handsome monument erected 
by order of Congress to the memory of General 
Montgomery, who fell at the storming of Quebec, 
in 1775, and whose remains were brought to New 
York, and interred beneath the monument in 1820. 
The spire of this church is 234 feet high; and the 
whole building is esteemed one of the best specimens 
of architecture in the city. In the church -yard ad- 
joining is an elegant monument, recently erected to 
the memory of Thomas Addis Emmet, an eminent 
counsellor at law, and brother to the unfortunate 
Irish orator, Robert Emmet. The plinth of the 
monument is one entire block, seven feet square, 
and twelve inches thick. The Egyptian obelisk. 



* The yellow fever has at times made great raA'ages here, but 
latterly it has beeu much less frequent, and the thanks of the 
inhabitants are due to the Board of Health, for the prompt and 
spirited measures which they adopt, whenever this or other malig- 
nant epedemic appears, to check its progress. 

u 2 



228 NEW YORK. 

standing on its base, is also in a single piece, and 
is rising of thirty-two feet high. The face towards 
Broadway is embellished with the American eagle, 
sheltering a harp unstrung, with a medallion like- 
ness of Emmet, and with his clasped hands, having 
stars around one wrist, and shamrocks around the 
other. On the north side is a Latin, and on the south 
an Irish inscription. 

" St. John's Chapel, in Varick-street, opposite Hud- 
son-square, is an elegant edifice, and the most ex- 
pensive in the city, having cost more than 200,000 
dollars. Its spire is 240 feet in height. 

"St. Patrick's Cathedral, a Roman Catholic church, 
in Mott-street, is the largest religious edifice in New 
York. It is built of stone, is 120 feet long, eighty 
feet wide, and is a conspicuous object in approaching 
the city from the east." 

There are nearly one hundred other churches in 
the city, belonging to eighteen or twenty different 
sects or denominations : all professing to be Chris- 
tians, excepting one Synagogue of Jews. But Dr. 
Spaflbrd tritely observes, he is persuaded there are 
Christians amongst these Jews, as well as Jews amongst 
the Christians. I dare say he is correct. At all 
events, it would be great presumption in me to 
question such authority. 

The hospitalities of my friends, during my stay in 
New York, having left me no opportunity of visiting, 
I am, of course, unable to speak from experience of 
the internal arrangements and accommodations of 



NEW YORK. 229 

the Hotels and Boarding-houses, both of which are 
abundant, and many of the former are upon a very 
extensive scale, adding considerably to the beauty 
of the city. The principal are in Broadway, namely, 
the Adelphi, fronting the Bowling-green, and in full 
view of the Battery and Harbour. It is a large brick 
building, stuccoed, and six stories high. The City 
Hotel, near Trinity Church, one of the largest in the 
city, containing more than one hundred parlours and 
lodging-rooms, besides an Assembly or Concert-room. 
The American Hotel, the Mansion House, the Wash- 
ington Hall, the Franklin House, and the National 
Hotel, are all splendid establishments, as are many 
others in different parts of the town. 

The good people of New York are neither wanting 
in Places of Public Amusement, nor a disposition to 
resort to them, as Theatres, Balls, Concerts, Panora- 
mas, and the like ; and few towns can boast of more 
fashionable promenades. The Battery, as it is termed, 
and which, I have before had occasion to state, is 
situated immediately at the junction of the Hudson 
and East Rivers, is one of the principal of these. It 
derives its name from its having been the site of early 
fortifications and stockade forts, but now presents a 
fixr more agreeable scene, thronged as it is with much 
of the youth and gaiety of the city, attracted there for 
the twofold purpose of inhaling the refreshing sea 
breezes, and surveying the interesting and ever-vary- 
ing scene around. It commands a view of the port, 
the egress and ingress of the ships, Governor's, Bed- 



230 NEW YORK. 

low's, and Ellis' Islands, Staten Island, the Nar- 
rows, &c. 

The Battery itself is laid out with spacious walks, 
and very tastefully planted with shrubs and trees. 
At its eastern extremity is Whitehall Slip, from whence 
the North River and other steam-boats take their de- 
parture, as well as passengers for the European 
packets. From the Battery is a bridge conducting to 
Castle Gardens, called also Castle Clinto7i or West 
Battery — a spot selected for nightly displays of fire- 
works, and other public amusements, during the 
summer months. 

Besides what I have noticed of the public build- 
ings, there are the State Prison, the Penitentiary, 
Bridewell, and Jail; numerous humane and chari- 
table institutions, two Museums, Marine Baths, Bo- 
tanic Garden, Reading and News-rooms, Private 
Schools and Academies, Free Schools, a Philological 
Society, Printing Establishments, from which issue 
periodically several talented literary and scientific 
publications ; and newspapers without end. 

Of Markets there are, I think, not less than twelve 
— Fulton, Washington, Duane, Franklin, Catharine, 
Spring, Centre, and others I scarcely know by name. 
The first on the list I have repeatedly visited, and 
have no hesitation in saying that for the richness and 
abundance of its supply it surpasses any I ever saw, 
especially in fruits and vegetables; and in fish, flesh, 
and fowl, there is every profusion and excellence. I 
liave been frequently asked by my American friends 



^EW YORK. 231 

whether I considered their heef equal to " the roast 
beef of Old England ;" but I could only confess my- 
self not epicure enough to tell the difference.* 

* 111 reference to prices of various articles and other matters con- 
nected with housekeeping expenses in New York, I have been 
kindly furnished by a friend with the following particulars : 

As regards House-rent in the city of New York, much depends 
upon situation. Remote from the business part of the city, a gen- 
teel two-story house can be obtained for 200 to 300 dollars per 
annum ; when at the same time, in the most desirable situation, 
near to the business part, a similar house would command from 
400 to 600 dollars, and if of larger dimensions, with convenience 
of stables, &c. as high as 1000 dollars might be obtained. Such, 
however, as occupy these are generally the owners of the property. 
When houses are leased, the landlord, in most cases, pays the taxes. 

The price of Fuel depends much upon the quantity in the market. 
Liverpool coal of the first quality, as used by many, varies from 
9 to 12 dollars per chaldron of thirty- six bushels. The consumption 
of this is much curtailed by the introduction of Lehigh and Schuyl- 
kill coal, fi-om its being cheaper than Liverpool. It is not, however, 
in such general use as was anticipated, nor is there any probability 
of its having the preference, unless at a materially lower price, the 
quality of it being so vastly inferior. Wood is from If to 2f dollars 
per load (about one-third of a cord) according to its quality. In 
severe winters the price runs up much higher, and those who have 
not had the prudence to lay in a good stock have often to pay about 
50 per cent. more. 

Provisions may be quoted as under: 

Fresh beef, first-rate cuts, 8 to 12 cents per lb. ; — Boiling and 
coarse pieces, 5 to 8 cents per lb. ; — Mutton, 6 to 8 cents per lb. ; — 
Pork, 5 to 7 cents per lb. ; — V^al and Lamb, 6 to 8 cents, per lb. ; 
— Turkeys, 75 to 125 cents each ; — Geese, 50 to 100 cents each ;— 
Ducks, 75 to 125 cents per couple. Other poultry in proportion. — 
Eggs about 1 cent each. Butter, 9 to 18 cents per lb. ; — Cheese, 
6 to 12 cents per lb. 

Of Vegetables there is a profusion of all kinds, the price varying 
much, influenced by seasons, &c. Potatoes may sometimes be 
bought as low as 30 to 37f cents per bushel, whilst at others they 
will sell for 50 or 70 cents per bushel. 

Groceries. — Loaf or Lump Sugar, 14 to 19 cents per lb. ; — Moist 
ditto, 6 to 11 cents per lb. ; — Candles (Sperm) 20 to 22 cents per lb.; 
— Ditto (Mould) 10 to 11 cents per lb. ; — White Soap, of best qua- 



232 NEW YORK. 

I Lave spoken of the frequency of fires in New York, 
and, as necessity is called the mother of invention, no 
efforts have been spared to render the Fire Depart- 
ment, which appears to be conducted upon an ad- 
mirable system, as efficient as possible. One of its 
regulations is the enrolment of the young men of 

lity, 12 cents per lb. ; — Yellow, 6 cents per lb ; — Green Tea, 90 to 
130 cents per lb. ; — Black, 70 to 100 cents per lb. ; — Coffee (Java) 
13 to 1.5 cents per lb. ; — Ditto (St. Domingo) 11 to 13 cents per lb. 
Brandy, Rum, and Gin, 1 dollar to 1§ dollar per gallon ; — Madeira 
Wine, 3 to 5 dollars per gallon ; — Port (very little good) 2§ to 4 
dollars per gallon ;— Claret, 4 to 16 dollars per dozen ; — Cider, 3 
to 5 dollars per barrel (32 gallons) ; — Beer, 4 to 6 dollars per barrel : 
— these to be understood as the retail prices. 

The article of Bread., of course, varies in price with the dearness 
or cheapness of flour, or rather, perhaps, I should say, the size of 
the loaves vary, the alteration being more commonly made in this 
way than in the price. As a general thing it may be stated full 
one-third lower than in England. 

Servants^ Wages. — For a good House or Chamber Maid (an adult) 
from 4 to 6 dollars per month is usual. Girls from thirteen to eighteen 
years of age are frequently obtainable for 3 to 4 four dollars per 
month. Good Cooks will command 6 to 8 dollars, and where the 
family is large much more is often given. — For first-rate men-ser- 
vants, either as house-servants or to take care of horses, Sec, 10 to 
12 dollars per month is the usual price. 

Clothing is something more expensive than in England ; that is, 
men''s. For a good fine broad-cloth coat from 2-5 to 35 dollars are 
usually paid ; other articles in the same proportion : the fit and cut, 
however, are incomparably better than in England. Boots and shoes 
are also very neatly made, though the leather is inferior to the 
English, and, being much tanned with hemlock bark, has often the 
unpleasant effect of leaving a red stain upon the stockings, &c. 
Wellington Boots may be had from 3 to 5 dollars per pair ;— Shoes 
2 to 3 dollars per pair. 

Hats are not so well made as in England either in shape or qua- 
lity ; they are sold from 3 to 6 dollars each : London Hats for 9 or 
10 dollars. 

Woollen and Cotton Stockings may be bought better and cheaper 
in England, and Silk Goods are now very little cheaper in America 
than in England, and no better. 



NEW YORK. 233 

the city, many of most respectable families who are 
desirous of rendering- personal services, and by such 
enrolment are by law excused from militia duty ; 
these are supplied with the necessary dresses and ac- 
coutrements, and upon an alarm of fire being- given, 
either by day or night, they repair with alacrity to 
the spot, duly equipped, to assist in its suppression. 
In the construction of their Fire Engines, too, they 
have certainly combined the useful and ornamental 
in a far greater degree than I ever witnessed else- 
where : — and though, perhaps, rather out of place, 
the same remark may be well applied to their Hack- 
ney Coaches, which are really elegant vehicles, drawn 
by something better than dog horses, and presenting 
an imposing contrast to the wretched conveyances 
which we are accustomed to distinguish by that 
name, and which (or the majority of them) are much 
fitter to carry felons to Newgate, or subjects to the 
dissecting room, than for any decent people to ride 
in. In addition to these, there are commodious 
coaches passing to and fro, almost constantly along 
the principal streets, and in which, for twelve and 
a half cents, you may ride from one end of the 
town to the other. 

The Fortijications of New York have been greatly 
strengthened and increased since the last war, and 
are now next to impregnable. I may be spared the 
enumeration of them, for there is hardly a spot, 
either upon the shores or numerous islands, which 
at all command the entrance, from Sandy Hook, 
(sixteen miles distant,) to the city, but what is 



234 NEW YORK. 

planted with cannon. There are tv»o arsenals, one 
belonging to the State, and the other to the Union. 

The chief part of the Shipping lies in the East 
River, in what are called Slips; projections extend- 
ing from the street to some distance into the water, 
admitting two or three vessels abreast, and where 
the largest may lie as securely as in Docks, with 
much greater facilities for passing in and out, as 
well as for loading and unloading. There are a 
considerable number of these projecting slips; several 
of them are constructed more in the form of a dock 
or basin, and are so termed; but they bear no resem- 
blance to the docks of our sea-ports. 

The Bay or Harbour of New York spreads in a 
southward direction, is about eight miles long, and 
from one and a half to five and a half miles broad, 
having Long Island on the east, and Staten Island 
and New Jersey on the west. It is connected with 
the Atlantic ocean by a short passage scarcely a 
mile in width, between Long Island and Staten 
Island, called " the Narrows." The tide rises at 
New York about six feet, and " opposite the city 
ships of ninety guns have anchored, where they lie 
land-locked, well secured from wind and storms, 
with ample space for the largest fleets. The water in 
this Bay is very little less salt than in the open ocean, 
and its currents are very rapid and strong; circum- 
stances that are of great importance in keeping the 
port of New York open, when others still further 
south are obstructed by frost. Philadelphia, Balti- 
more, and Alexandria are sometimes choked by ice, 



NEW YORK. 235 

whilst New York is enjoying all the benefits of an 
open and free intercourse with the Atlantic." 

The City and County of New York is now divided 
into fourteen Wards, in each of which is elected an- 
nually an Alderman and Assistant-Alderman ; and 
these fourteen Aldermen, and fourteen Assistant- 
Aldermen, together with the Mayor and Recorder, 
constitute the Common Council of the City, or in the 
words of the original charter, " The Mayor, Aldermen, 
and Commonality of the City of New York.'* The 
Wards also elect Assessors, Collectors, Constables, 
&c. The Mayor is elected by the Common Council, 
usually called the Corporation, and this body meet 
once a week throughout the year. No compensation 
is paid to the Aldermen or Assistants, it being con- 
sidered they are well requited by the honour the 
office confers. 

The Mightly Watch and City Police are highly 
spoken of, and the town is well lighted in every part : 
— but were I to notice all that is worthy of attention 
and remark in this great and enterprising city, which 
may well be termed the young metropolis of the west; 
I fear I should be trenching too much upon the pa- 
tience of my readers, and instead of "getting under 
way" for England, almost induce them to believe that 
I was designing to tarry here. True I do not leave 
either place or people without many regrets ; and the 
pleasing and varied incidents of the past fortnight 
will not speedily be effaced from my recollection. 
Most grateful to my feelings would it be to notice 
some most intimately connected with them, and whose 



2^^ DEPARTURE FOR ENGLAND. 

unremitting assiduities and exertions to add to my 
pleasures, and assist me in my projects, entitle them 
to my warmest thanks ; but as naming these would 
seem, in some sort, to exclude others, (and I know it 
would be foreign to their wish,) all will be pleased to 
accept of my very cordial and sincere acknowledg- 
ments, and those to whom most are due may be assured 
that I freely accord them the largest share. 

For some days prior to my departure, my time was 
too fully and too agreeably occupied to think much 
of the Robert Fulton, the name of our vessel : it was 
the only unpleasant subject which came across my 
mind ; consequently it was not until the very morning 
of sailing that I was aware of the great number of 
passengers about to be taken. I was informed that 
we were to be limited to four in the cabin, and about 
forty in the steerage ; in place of which, when I came 
to embark, I found in the cabin seven, besides myself 
and the captain; and, including men, women, and 
children, about ninety in the steerage. Under these 
circumstances I certainly should have declined going, 
but the packet ship, Caledonia, had sailed two days 
previously; and my principal reason for taking my 
passage by the vessel at all, being a slight know- 
ledge of the captain, (Britton,) still operating as a 
stimulus ; and, not least, having passed through the 
ordeal of a leave-taking, I concluded, truly unpleasant 
as it was, to jDroceed. 

It was about nine o'clock on the morning of tlie 
3rd of October when a steam-boat was attached to 
the ship, with the intention of towing us as far as 



DISASTER AT SEA. 237 

Sandy Hok, and in which several of my friends ac- 
companied me; but the wind becoming favourable 
after it had conducted us a short distance, we hoisted 
sail and dispensed with the steamer much earlier than 
we had flattered ourselves we might have done. 

For the first three days we had a fair wind, and 
made good progress, but afterwards it got nearly 
ahead, and with the exception of one day, on which 
we were becalmed^ it continued to blow in that direc- 
tion until the 15th of October. It then chopped round 
to the north-west, and carried us along in fine style, 
till the morning of the 18th, when, by an occurrence 
little looked for, all our buoyant prospects were sud- 
denly and awfully dissipated, and the scene changed 
to one of aggravated horror — of hopeless and wild 
despair — when " shrieked the timid, and stood still 
the brave." — but one common destruction seemed to 
menace all. 

As, however, the event which it is my painful task 
to narrate, may involve interests and property of 
serious amount, and occasion disputes to which I have 
no desire to become a party, I shall endeavour, in the 
most unbiassed and impartial manner, and with as 
much brevity as circumstances will admit of, to pre- 
sent it to the reader, and leave it to those better 
acquainted with the laws of sailing, and nautical 
technicalities than myself, to enlarge and refine upon 
it as they may think fit. 

Upon going on deck at five in the morning, I 
found it blowing very fresh from the N.N.W. I 
continued on deck till about eight o'clock, when we 



238 DISASTER AT SEA. 

were summoned to breakfast, and shortly after we 
received intimation of a sail being in sight, about 
two and a half points on our larboard bow, (our 
lat. being then 45« lO' N. and our long. 44« 30' W.) 
ujDon which the Captain and the whole of the party, 
excepting myself, went on deck, and from them I 
learnt that it was a British barque with a signal of 
distress at her mast head. Our Captain, therefore, 
altered his course, for the purpose of speaking her> 
and rendering what assistance she might require, or 
it was in our power to afford : previously he had 
no intention of going near her. By the time I went 
on deck, we had neared almost within hailing dis- 
tance. Captain B.'s intention was to pass under the 
lee of the barque; whether her Captain mistook this 
movement, or was too close upon the wind to accom- 
modate himself to it as expeditiously as was requi- 
site, I am unable to determine ; be it as it may, the 
position of the barque so completely becalmed our 
sails, that our ship would not answer her helm, and 
having her broadside exposed to the bows of the 
barque, she came upon us with tremendous force, 
running her bowsprit into our larboard fore-chains, 
tearing them to pieces, with the fore-rigging, and 
foretop-mast backstays, stove in the side under the 
fore-chains, breaking several of the timbers, and one 
of the upper deck beams, also the knees attached to 
it, with the stanchions and rails. Rebounding from 
this concussion, she rose upon the next ruthless 
wave, from the height of which she was furiously 
driven upon us again, striking our main-chains, car- 



DISASTER AT SEA. 239 

rying them away, with the main-rigging, and one of 
the maintop-mast backstays, and tearing the bolts 
out of the side. In this shock the barque broke off 
her bowsprit close to the stem, and left some part of 
her rigging on board our ship. Dreadful as was the 
injury we had already sustained, we had yet to 
suffer another and a severer blow. Our vessel was 
now down in the trough of the sea, and ere she 
could rise, a heavy swell violently impelled the 
barque upon her for a third time, and, most unfortu- 
nately, brought her stem in contact with our mizen- 
chains; these "at one fell swoop" she tore away, 
with every rope and security attached to them, and, 
as if still unsatisfied, in passing off, struck, and 
stoved a large hole in our stern, and carried away 
our stern boat, and nearly all our oars, leaving us 
a complete wreck. The barque herself appeared to 
have sustained considerable injury, and the sea was 
running too high at the time to admit of her ren- 
dering us any assistance. We did not learn her 
name, or, in fact, exchange a word with her.-'^- 

In a few seconds after we had got clear of each 
other, our mizen-mast, all unprotected as it was, 

* Since my landing in England, I am happy to say the barque 
has also arrived, and proves to be the Standard, of Whitby. At 
the time we met with her, she was bound to British America for a 
cargo of timber, and the chief injury she received being the loss 
of her bowsprit, she was not prevented continuing her voyage, from 
which, after repairing and loading as designed, she has returned ia 
safety to the port of Liverpool. Thus, not a single individual on 
either vessel has perished by a catastrophe which threatened the 
destruction of all—A miracle and a mercy none can too highly 
appreciate. 

x2 



240 DISASTER AT SEA, AND 

snapped short a little above the deck, and fell with 
a dreadful crash over our starboard rail, the end of 
it starting out, breaking our binacle and compasses 
to atoms, and displacing the wheel. Our situation 
was now dangerous and appalling in the extreme; 
and the cries of men, women, and children, added 
not a little to the melancholy, the heart-rending 
character of the scene. Even the weather-beaten 
tar, for a time, stood petrified with dread, or with a 
reckless seeming of indifference, awaited the ap- 
proach of his threatening destiny. Seeing, however, 
we still continued to float, the first faint stimulus 
to effort was directed to the pumps, and incon- 
ceivable was our joy to find that, notwithstanding 
all we had suffered, we had made comparatively but 
little water. This welcome gleam of hope afresh 
renewed exertion, and as expeditiously as possible 
the mizen-mast, which was hanging by its rigging 
over the starboard side, was cut away; but whilst 
thus engaged, we were fearfully apprehensive, from 
the heavy rolling of the ship, that before any addi- 
tional security could be given to the remaining masts, 
they would share a similar fate, and extinguish 
at once our scarce reviving hope. Fortunately they 
stood firm, and we had no sooner cleared the mizen- 
mast, than all capable of rendering assistance directed 
the most prompt attention to securing them to the 
extent of our limited means, by setting up preventer 
shrouds to the ring bolts in the water ways, and 
every place that could tend to afford the least sup- 
port. We then righted the wheel, brought up our 



RUN TO THE WESTERN ISLANDS. 241 

only remaining compass, got the ship under snug 
sail, and scudded her before the wind. 

To think of pursuing our voyage, under the circum- 
stances, was, however, utterly out of the question; 
and the only choice or chance left us seemed to be to 
run for the Western Islands, distant then about eight 
hundred miles in a south-easterly direction ; there we 
accordingly endeavoured to shape our course ; but, at 
the same time, keeping a man at the mast head look- 
ing out for a sail, with the determination of abandon- 
ing our ship should any opportunity be afforded us, 
not knowing at what moment she might founder, and 
all our efforts prove abortive. In this agonizing state 
of anxiety and excitement the night closed upon us, 
and by its impenetrable blackness added new horrors 
to the scene. The wind had now increased to a heavy 
gale; the sea rose higher and higher, and ever and 
anon seemed ready to break over us ; whilst at every 
roll we trembled for the fate of our masts. Those of 
the passengers who dared to venture on deck occa- 
sionally assisted at the pumps, but the greater part 
remained below, stupified with terror, or imploring 
the aid of that Almighty Power, to whose miraculous 
interposition we yet owed our existence, and who 
alone could succour in this dire extremity. Slowly 
and heavily the watches crept along, and every sound 
of the bell which announced their termination struck 
upon the ear as with the prophetic sadness of a knell.''^ 

* Upon one of these occasions a poor fellow, who had heard the 
Captain order the watch to " strike eight bells,'' (usual on board a 
ship at the expiration of every four hours,) half frantic with dread, 



242 RUN TO THE WESTERN ISLANDS. 

At length the morning dawned, or rather the pall of 
night was withdrawn : a fiery and portentous redness 
just announced its approach, and again the gloom of 
the tempest shrouded all. The gale continued as 
violent as ever, and with a furious impetuosity hurried 
us along : though in all the uncertainty of meeting 
v.ith a sail, we scarcely wished it less. Since the 
time of the accident we had made upwards of two 
hundred miles, and if our masts stood, and the water 
did not increase upon us, there was every appearance 
of our accomplishing as much in the next twenty-four 
hours. — I will not trace the sad detail step by step ; 
descriptions of shipwrecks are familiar to most readers : 
those who wish to know more I refer to the pages of 
Falkner and Byron, which I never read with so deep 
an interest as when, upon an old hencoop, lashed to 
the side of our reeling vessel, I perused them upon 
this occasion : and though none of their most ardent 
admirers need ever covet a like experience, I must 
still think that it is only in the midst of the dread 
ordeal, and when every power of the soul is roused 
and rapt with the scene, that the fidelity and high- 
wrought energy of their colouring can be duly, fully 
appreciated. To proceed — on the evening of the 20th 

came up and demanded of him, if there was then no hope for lis, 
and on Captain Britton inquiring the cause of his increased anxiety, 
he replied, " Why, Sir, I thought I heard you tell them to strike the 
dead bells." — In the midst of all our fears it was difficult to suppress 
a smile. The man had probably heard the same directions given a 
hundred times before, without any misconception ; but the awa- 
kened and tortured imagination was now only alive to forebodings 
of evil, and ready to affix its own gloomy impress on all that 
trans])ired. 



RUN TO THE WESTERN ISLANDS. 243 

" the storm had spent its strength/' and by the fol- 
lowing morning it had become nearly a calm. We 
availed ourselves of this opportunity of ascertain- 
ing the extent of injury done to the vessel, and ap- 
plying every remedy we could. The smaller open- 
ings we filled with oakum, over which we nailed a 
thick covering of tarred canvas. Into the large hole 
in the stern, we stuffed a whole foresail, covering that 
also with canvas and boards. We next turned our 
attention to our long-boat, which we found shamefully 
out of order, so bad, indeed, that though we spent 
many hours in attempting to repair it, we could not 
render it in a state fit to be depended upon. But with 
the number which we had on board, however perfect 
its condition, it could have been of no avail, except 
in transferring us to another vessel, or upon the occa- 
sion of effecting a landing at a short distance.* 

We did little or nothing at sailing throughout this 
day, and many an anxious and inquiring glance was 
cast around the wide horizon, and the wisdom of our 
most weather-ivise consulted, to divine, if possible, 
from what Cj[uarter we must next expect a wind, and 
dreading a change which would either compel us to 
alter our tack, or our course. Happily, the next day 
dissipated our fears, and brought us a gentle breeze 
from the south. We crowded all the sail we could, and 

* It appears tome highly imperative that some public enactment 
should exist to compel the owners of vessels to provide good and 
sufficient boats, in proportion to the number of passengers they 
engage to convey ; and that none should be pennitted to clear at 
the Custom-house, until an agent appointed for the purpose had 
■ satisfactorily ascertained the fact. 



544 RUN TO THE WESTERN ISLANDS. 

though the way we made was trifling in comparison 
with some previous days, we were thankful even to be 
holding on our course and nearing any land. 

The principal occurrence which marked the suc- 
ceeding day 23rd of October 1 would 

willingly pass over altogether in silence, not wishing 
to indulge in personal reflections upon any one, and 
feeling that I cannot so far forget what is due to hu- 
manity — or at all events so appears to me, as to avoid 
it upon the present occasion : — with this premise, 
however, I leave the reader to form his own judg- 
ment, stating the circumstance very nearly as it is 
recorded in the Log Book. 

At ten A. M. a sail appeared in sight, bearing di- 
rectly towards us, upon which we immediately hoisted 
a signal of distress, and made every preparation for 
going on board of her ; Capt. B. wishing to afford 
all an opportunity of leaving their present most peri- 
lous situation. We had scarcely done this when we 
were surprised to see the vessel altering her course, 
and continuing every moment to steer more out of 
our track ; this we construed into a determination to 
avoid speaking us, and after waiting for some time in 
a state of painful suspense, in order that there might 
be no misconception of our intention, we backed our 
main-yard, of which no notice still being taken, our 
former suspicions were confirmed, and we were just 
on the point of hauling down our signal, and making 
sail again, when the stranger tacked short about and 
came towards us. It proved to be the British barque 
" Mary Catharine/' of Liverpool, bound for Charles- 



RUN TO THE WESTERN ISLANDS. 245 

ton. When within hail we lost no time in acquaint- 
ing the Captain with our distress, though which in- 
deed was but too sadly conspicuous, and recjuesting 
him to take us on board. This he refused to do, on 
the plea of insufficiency of provisions, which we 
could only regard as futile, when he might have had 
any requisite supply from our vessel. We next pro- 
posed to him to accompany us to one of the Western 
Islands — the nearest being about 250 miles distant — 
and for which we professed our willingness to re- 
munerate him ; but this he also objected to do. At 
length, after much entreaty, he consented (rather an 
advantage to him than otherwise, we presume) to take 
three cabin passengers ! which accordingly went on 
board, having, at his request, been previously sup- 
plied with some stores by Capt. B ; he also offered us 
a spar or two if we wished to attempt any repairs, 
which, of course, we rejected, considering it, with the 
the deplorable appearance which we presented, little 
better than a mockery. He then made sail again and 
left us to our fate. — If ever he should be placed in 
a similar situation, (''what mortal his own doom may 
guess ?") and meet with the like treatment, however he 
may feel its justice, he will not, j^erhaps, be disposed to 
put a more favourable construction upon it than we 
did upon his. To Capt. Britton, being an American, 
it appeared even the more ungenerous and disgrace- 
ful, as our unfortunate sitaation was solely attri- 
butable to his humane endeavour to succour a British 
vessel in distress, I shall only add that the indi- 
vidual who is the subject of these allusions is to me 



246 APPROACH TO CORVO AND FLORES. 

a perfect stranger, and it is the co7iduct, and not the 
man, which I wish to expose, and hold up to that 
reprobation it so justly merits.* 

The wind continued to favour us, and towards even- 
ing became more westerly, and blew fresher. We 
made excellent progress throughout the night, and 
by noon on the 24th, Captain B. having succeeded in 
getting an observation, we discovered that we had 
little more than one hundred miles to run to the most 
westerly of the Azores, the influence of the genial 
climate of which we were beginning sensibly to expe- 
rience, and having proved how little we could depend 
upon any intermediate rescue, we looked towards 
them even with a more than intense eagerness. 

At day-break on the 2-5th, being the eighth day since 
our accident, we first discovered the islands of Corvo 
and Flores, the former bearing E. by N., and the 
latter S. E. Shortly after the crew were summoned, 
and a consultation held as to the course it would be 
most eligible for us to pursue. After due deliberation. 



* When speaking of this circumstance, it seems but impartial to 
mention the only possible extenuation which can be pleaded for 
such, otherwise, mysteriously unfeeling behaviour, which is, that in 
the present state of the insurance laws, if the captain of the " Maiy 
Catharine" had deviated from the precise course specified in his 
policy, even though to save the lives of a hundred of his fellow- 
creatures, it would have vitiated his insurance for the remainder of 
the voyage, and, in case of accident, his owners would have been 
unable to obtain from the underwriters the slightest redress or re- 
compense. It is high time that such an infamous inducement to 
evade the most sacred duties of humanity were removed; and I 
should little regret its operation in our case, if, in directing the pub- 
lic attention to it, it should in any way promote the accomplishment 
ot so desirable and necessary an object. 



NEARING FLORES, 247 

and viewing- the circumstances of the case in all its 
bearings, the shattered state of our vessel, the uncer- 
tainty of the wind continuing favourable, which, 
indeed, had already become less so, and the number 
of lives at stake, it was unanimously determined to 
make the first land we could. As the day advanced, 
the wind continued to back more to the southward, 
and notwithstanding we were once again in sight of 
land, we could not repress some unwelcome fore- 
bodings, conscious how much depended upon the next 
twelve hours. If, as appeared probable, the wind 
settled in its present quarter, or it came on to blow 
before we had made either of the islands now in view, 
we could have no hopes from the Azores, the remain- 
der being situated still farther to the south, and to be 
exposed to another gale, which, even if we weathered, 
might drive us we knew not whither, was an alternative 
well calculated to excite our apprehensions. To 
leave nothing, however, unessayed on our part, we 
commenced clearing our anchors and cables, got our 
long-boat, such as it was, ready to hoist over, and 
with some barrels and spars constructed a raft, to be 
used in case of emergency. We had intended to have 
passed to the south of the Island of Flores, and thus 
round to Santa Cruz, (the principal town on the 
island, and situated on the eastern part of it,) hoping 
there to meet with anchorage and assistance ; but this 
we now found utterly impracticable, and, though we 
kept gradually nearing land, all we could anticipate 
was to touch at its north-western extremity. By two 
in the afternoon we supposed ourselves within twelve 



248 IN WITH THE N.W. POINT OF FLORES,— 

or fifteen miles of this point, and hoisted a signal of 
distress ; after which we had very frequent recourse 
to the telescope to discover the features of the un- 
known coast we were approaching, which had, indeed, 
a most wild, rocky, and formidable aspect : here and 
there we observed some patches of cultivation, but 
no other evidence of the existence of a human being 
was any where visible. In this forlorn and perplexing 
situation, at five o'clock, we found ourselves close 
in with the land, and a current setting us towards 
it. To effect anchorage was impossible ; in fact, the 
very idea of anchoring at all in the state we were, 
to put to sea again upon the first shift of wind, was 
little better than preposterous ; and to depend upon 
our boat, at any distance from the shore, was equally 
visionary. The night was coming on with unfavour- 
able indications as to weather : the steerage part of 
our cargo in particular " were mad for land," im- 
ploring that the chance might not be thrown away; 
and, dreadful as was the alternative, there seemed to 
be no other choice left us but to suflfer the vessel to 
drive upon the rocks. We accordingly selected a 
small inlet between two immense projections rising 
nearly perpendicularly out of the ocean to the height 
of two or three hundred feet, as the most shel- 
tered spot which presented itself for eflfecting a 
landing. The moments which intervened between 
this resolve and the striking of the ship may be 
much better fancied than described : the most death- 
like silence prevailed, or was only interrupted by 
the wild clamours of the sea-gull and the breaking 



AND STRANDING. 249 

surf before us. The frowning masses of rock between 
which we were entering seemed like two vast portals 
ready to close upon us ; and to most, I doubt not, 
earnest as had been the desire for the adoption of the 
expedient, it appeared far more like an approach to 
destruction than deliverance. Our black steward, 
who had lived through one or two wrecks before, 
looked absolutely horrid with affright. A while pre- 
vious I had observed him overpowered with anguish, 
and abandoning himself to despair : he knew, he said, 
that the vessel would go to pieces, that all could not 
be landed, and that he was sure to be last thought of. 
1 endeavoured all I could to allay the poor fellow's 
apprehensions ; told him that if we had not to swim 
for it, he should, at any rate, take his turn before me : 
but all would not do: a strange presentiment had 
seized upon him that he was destined to perish here, 
and it was not until he saw himself safe upon the 
rocks that he could be convinced to the contrary. I 
had certainly expected the masts, being so nearly 
unsupported on one side, to have fallen at the mo- 
ment of the concussion ; but the rocks in this inlet 
running out for some little distance under water, the 
keel of the ship ground along them, perhaps for 
more than half its length, which contributed much to 
lessen the violence of the final shock : this had no 
sooner occurred than we got our boat to the side, and 
commenced putting in the women and children. By 
this time several of the natives had made their appear- 
ance, and some in the most magnanimous manner 
swam off to our assistance. A rope was then attached 



250 LANDING ON THE ROCKS. 

to each end of the boat ; one we retained in the ship, 
and the other passed to the people on the rocks ; by 
which means it was towed backwards and forwards 
until all were landed, though leaking the whole time 
to such a degree that three or four men were obliged 
to be constantly baling to keep it afloat. Some of 
our passengers seeing this, in the onset, and probably 
thinking they stood as good a chance of reach- 
ing the shore by one means as another, had thrown 
over the raft, but in their precipitation jumping all on 
one side of it, it was, of course, upset, and two of the 
number very nearly lost their lives; — one (by his own 
account an ex-midshipman of the royal navy) it was 
my happiness to rescue, just as he was giving over 
the last struggle for existence. As soon as all were 
safely on shore, our next care was to secure some pro- 
visions, and such of our luggage as could be most 
conveniently come at ; but the surf beginning to break 
more violently, and our boat being in the wretched 
plight alluded to, we were shortly obliged to forego 
the attempt, and give up all until we could procure 
some further assistance. We forthwith inquired if 
there were any agent of the American Consul upon 
the island, and being informed that a Vice-Consul 
resided at Santa Cruz, we despatched a messenger to 
that place, (a circuitous route of about twelve miles 
over the mountains,) to acquaint him with our unfor- 
tunate situation, and requesting that he would lose 
no time in repairing to the wreck. We then threw 
ourselves down under the rocks, and overpowered 
with long watching, fatigue, and anxiety, all wet as 



NIGHT UNDER THE ROCKS. 251 

we were, sank involuntarily to sleep. Our repose, 
however, was but of short duration, being broken in 
upon by the sound of a quarrel which had commenced 
between the crew and the natives; the former having 
contrived to bring on shore a part of a cask of spirits, 
and becoming completely intoxicated, sailor-like, 
were seeking with all possible avidity to " kick up a 
roiv." Foreseeing the unpleasant consequences which 
such proceedings might lead to, for the natives had 
now flocked down from the mountains in considerable 
numbers, and many of them, too, had drank pretty 
freely from the same maddening source, an attempt 
was made to put an end to the contention by knocking 
in the head of the cask. This, though it effectually 
prevented a recurrence of the evil, for a time only 
added fuel to the flame ; the crew especially, with the 
exception of one man, who conducted himself admi- 
rably, behaved in the most outrageous and infamous 
manner, even threatening our lives, and endeavouring 
all in their power to exasperate the natives against us, 
who, had they been left to themselves, would have 
manifested no disposition of the kind. As it was, 
from one, or the other, or both, we were every moment 
expecting an attack; and though none was made, it 
was chiefly the cause of adding one more to the many 
anxious and almost sleepless nights we had passed. 
In the midst of these disturbances, one or two boats 
made their appearance at the ship, for the purpose of 
plunder, which we had no means of preventing, 
though I do not imagine they carried off any thing 
of consequence. Before it was light a man in 
Y 2 



252 ARRIVAL OF THE VlCE-CONS(JL, 

authority arrived; that is to say, a description of 
constable, armed with a black thorn stick nearly 
as tall as himself, and who gave us to understand 
that he was deputed by the Governor to protect the 
property. At first we were inclined to yield but 
little credit to his representations ; but seeing that 
by virtue of his wand and various official threaten- 
ings he was able to keep his own countrymen, at 
least, at a most respectful distance, we allowed him 
to proceed as he would, and found him, contrary to 
expectation, a very useful sort of personage. In 
this way we put on till near eight o'clock, when we 
observed a number of boats approaching the ship, 
(now rolling heavily, and appearing to be filling 
fast with water,) one of which contained the Vice- 
Consul, Mr. Borges, who immediately came on shore, 
and in the most kind and feeling manner expressed 
his concern for our misfortune, at the same time con- 
gratulating us upon our truly miraculous escape 
from a watery grave. He then returned to the ship, 
and commenced saving whatever he could. — It ap- 
peared that the nearest place of security was Ponte 
del Gada, another and much larger inlet, lying 
about six miles to the east of the present, and where 
was also a small village. Between this place and the 
wreck the boats kept incessantly plying during the 
day, and succeeded in getting off the greater part of 
the passengers' luggage, the sails, cables, &c., and 
about 200 barrels of flour, of which the cargo chiefly 
consisted. In the evening came our turn, and a 
most formidable and perilous undertaking it was. 



GETTING OFF TO PONTE DEL GAD A. 253 

The surf now broke so high at the head of the inlet 
as to render it impossible to bring a boat up to that 
part ; one or two were near being dashed to pieces 
in making the attempt, and it seemed every way 
probable that we must content ourselves with another 
night's lodging upon the rocks. After various fruit- 
less endeavours, however, it was ascertained that a 
small cavity at the side of one of the projections 
would afford sufficient security to a boat, if we 
could manage to reach it; but with this proviso, the 
difficulty scarcely seemed less than before; the rock 
along which we must pass, about one-third of the 
way up, being, as I have stated, nearly perpen- 
dicular, with only a narrow shelving ledge, in some 
places scarcely wide enough for the feet, and where 
the slightest hesitation or faltering would have been 
irretrievably and instantly fatal. Many, at once, 
determined to remain where they were, or get over 
the island how they could, rather than make the 
experiment; and few of those who undertook its per- 
formance would have been more readily prevailed 
upon to repeat it. I am satisfied it never would 
have been accomplished at all, without the assistance 
of the natives, who are so habituated to scrambling 
amongst the rocks, that their feats in this way are 
absolutely incredible, and upon the present occasion, 
besides almost running along themselves without 
difficulty, they had to carry several of the passengers, 
and some bulky articles of luggage. It was nearly 
dark before the first boat was freighted, (the last, I 
believe, did not get oflf till between nine and ten,) 



254 PONTE DEL GADA, AND 

and loaded it was to within a few inches of the 
water's edge ; the wind ahead, and blowing fresh. 
In this state we pushed out, and had to pilot our 
way through the most dreadful rocks and breakers 
I ever beheld, oftentimes running close upon them 
before they were perceptible. On one side, and 
nearly a mile distant, lay an iron-bound coast, like 
one perpendicular wall of rock, and on the other 
the open ocean, or with only the small Island of 
Corvo intervening. Our danger, indeed, seemed 
scarcely less imminent than that from which we had 
been so lately rescued, and though our boatmen 
were familiar with the track, and managed the boat 
skilfully, it was evident that they were by no means 
charmed with their situation, and none of us felt 
otherwise than perfectly satisfied to be landed in 
safety at Ponte del Gada, and leave Santa Cruz for 
daylight, or some more favourable opportunity. 
After quitting the boat we had to ascend the rocks 
by a most rugged road, and continued along the 
summit until we reached the miserable huts where 
we were to take up our quarters for the night. For 
our steerage company, a large room, being an ap- 
pendage to the Mass-house, had been obligingly set 
apart by the priest, who also entertained two or 
three at his own house. The rest of us disposed of 
ourselves as we could, and upon the floors of the 
different habitations, some with beds, and some with 
none, full soon forgot the dangers and hardships 
we had encountered, and, I'll answer for it, enjoyed 
a night of as sweet, perhaps sweeter, repose than 



GETTING OFF TO SANTA CRUZ. 255 



any King in Christendom. — In the morning, 
27^/i of October, Mr. Borges had been intend- 
ing to return to the wreck, with the boats, and 
renew his exertions at saving the cargo, but the sea 
had got up so much during the night, and it was 
blowing so fresh, that no one could be found wil- 
ling to run the risk; and knowing that the vessel, 
where she was stranded, must quickly go to pieces, 
he considered it best to sell the whole, by auction, 
without delay; and in all the uncertainty of being 
able to save any thing further, the utmost bidding 
that could be obtained amounted only to 261 dol- 
lars, for which sum our poor unfortunate ship, with 
her remaining cargo, was accordingly knocked down. 
A boat was afterwards sent off by the purchasers, 
and lost; but all on board fortunately escaped. 

The weather continuing very boisterous and unfa- 
vourable, we remained here until the 29th, when we 
again set out in open boats for Santa Cruz, twelve 
miles further to the S.E. Previous to our leaving, 
there had been some further arrivals of flour from 
the wreck, all of which had been under water, and 
appeared much damaged. Our passage was about 
as hazardous and unpleasant as upon the former 
occasion, excepting that we had the day instead of 
the night to perform it in, and being thus enabled 
to discern danger before in immediate contact with it, 
we were somewhat better prepared to guard against 
it. Upon landing at Santa Cruz, as soon as arrange- 
ments could be made, there being no inn, or place of 
public entertainment, we were variously billeted, the 



256 SANTA CRUZ. 

crew, and the chief part of the steerage passengers, 
were housed in a building near the Fort; some got ad- 
mission into the Convent, but were so terribly alarmed 
when its massy doors were closed upon them, that the 
poor friars were obliged to liberate them, to the no 
small relief of the one, and amusement of the other. 
Several were accommodated at a Scotchman's, who 
had settled in the place as a professor of physic. Mr. 
Borges invited Captain B. and myself to his resi- 
dence, and thus, by degrees, all were as well, and 
much better cared for, than shipwrecked men have 
an y right to expect to be, or very commonly are. 

Here, without anticipating the future, we were 
willing to consider our toils and troubles at an end, 
and though but upon a rock, as it were, in the midst 
of the wide Atlantic, felt thankful for the deliverance 
we had experienced, and rather wishing a transient 
interval of rest, than again to cast ourselves upon the 
treacherous waves of ocean : for the moment 

" Lovely seemed any object that should sweep 
Away the vast, salt, dread, eternal deep." 

Such, at least, were my sentiments and impressions 
upon my safe arrival at Santa Cruz; and I was 
further gratified to find the detention we were likely 
to meet with would afford me an opportunity of 
rambling over the island, and contemplating scenes 
and objects of, to me, a novel and highly interesting 
character ; as, however, before the period of our con- 
tinuance here had expired, most, or all, excepting 
myself, began to be more or less troubled with ennui, 
and anxious for the hour of departure, perhaps, were 



SANTA CRUZ General Remarks. 257 

I to transcribe the detail of my Journal, I might run 
some risk of producing a like feeling in the mind of 
the reader, and I shall therefore extract, as I have 
frequently done, the very little which I find possess- 
ing general interest. 

The Island of Flores is in latitude 39" 33', and 
longitude 31° 8'. It is about twelve miles long from 
north to south, and six miles wide in the centre, from 
east to west, narrowing a little towards each end.* 
It is for the most part mountainous and rugged, every 
where demonstrating the existence of volcanic erup- 
tions at a former period, although none have occurred 
within memory. Some of its slopes towards the sea, 
and portions also of the interior of the island, pre- 
sent small inclosures, walled with lava and pumice- 
stone, and highly cultivated; with a soil of uncom- 
mon richness and fertility, producing Indian corn, 
wheat, yams, and potatoes, with a plentiful supply of 
herbage, amongst which I may include lupins, raised 
and cut for the cattle in a green state. 

There is nothing that can be denominated timber 
upon the island; but besides a few orange planta- 
tions, apple, pear, and fig trees, there are trees and 
shrubs of various kinds, supplying all that is neces- 
sary for fuel and other purposes. The evergreens 
are chiefly the fir, box, juniper, laurel, and lauris- 
tinus, with some cedar, which grow luxuriantly, and 

* When 1 have heretofore spoken of distances from place to 
place in this island, I must be understood as meaning the distance 
of land or water necessary to be passed over, to avoid the hills, or 
the rocks, as the case may be. 



258 SANTA CRUZ General Remarks. 

often conceal with their deep foliage the otherwise 
barren rocks amongst which they spring. Water is 
very abundant, and of the purest quality, intersect- 
ing the valleys in small rapid streams, often in its 
course turning the overshot wheel of a neat little 
corn-mill. Sometimes it continues along the heights 
until it reaches the rocks on the coast, from the 
lofty elevations of which it is seen descending at 
once in beautiful cascades into the ocean, and, in 
some situations, vessels visiting the island for water 
can obtain a supply by sending out their casks in a 
boat, without having occasion to land. 

The population of Flores is estimated at about 
8,000, of which 1,500 may be resident in Santa Cruz, 
and more than half that number at Lagens, another 
small town to the south of Santa Cruz, also on the 
eastern side of the island. The remainder is dis- 
persed in several trifling villages, and detached dwell- 
ings, more properly denominated huts than cottages. 

Of the chief town, Santa Cruz, little favourable 
can be said. It consists pretty much of three nar- 
row streets, leading from the sea, in parallel lines, 
for a distance of near a quarter of a mile, to another 
street, which runs from south-east to north-west, in 
the direction of Ponte del Gada. Immediately be- 
hind the town is a high hill, with a very steep 
ascent, cultivated almost to the summit, which is 
chiefly overgrown with juniper. There was for- 
merly a sort of vigia^ or look-out, upon it; but only 
a few yards of the wall are now remaining. 

ThejDCtter kind of houses are built of stone, the 



SANTA CRUZ General Remarks. 2d9 

walls very tliick, never exceeding two stories high, 
and usually having a balcony from the upper rooms, 
with glazed folding doors opening into it : here the 
inmates are mostly to be seen lounging about in dis- 
habille, with no other object or excitement save that 
of noticing occasional passing acquaintance, between 
whom and themselves a host of ceremonies and com- 
pliments is expected to take place. The lower rooms, 
if not used as cellars or store-rooms, are seldom fur- 
nished or inhabited. The mildness of the climate 
precludes the necessity of fires, and in no room, 
except the kitchen, is a fire-place ever seen. The 
rest, and by far the greater part, of the houses are 
mere cottages, rather roughly constructed and white- 
washed. — There are two small shops or stores in the 
town, at the principal of which I am told the re- 
ceipts will not average more than two dollars per 
day, and even with that a twelvemonth's credit is 
frequently given ; such, in fact, is the scarcity of 
money, that trading may almost be said to be carried 
on upon a system of barter. The rent of land is, I 
believe, universally paid in produce. 

The public buildings are a Church and a Convent; 
the former very lofty and s])acious, large enough to 
contain half the population of the island, but with grass 
growing in the interior on each side of the ile, just as 
on the outside, except at the upper end, where the 
arrangements are very similar to those of Catholic 
churches generally, and crosses, images of saints, 
&c. &c. occupy every little niche and situation in which 
it seems possible to place them.— The Convent is an 



200 SANTA CKUZ General remarks. 

irregular stone building-, in size better corresponclinir 
with the magnitude of the Church than the insignifi- 
cance of the town. It contains several roomy halls 
and other apartments, and is occupied by a few friars, 
who evidently take better care of themselves than the 
building ; for whilst the former are well fed, sleeky and 
comely, the latter has but a neglected and dreary 
a{)pearance. There are not any nuns in the island. 

The Jail and the Custom-house are unworthy of 
notice; but there is a little edifice on the outskirts of 
the town which, for the novelty and ingenuity of its 
design and construction, must not be so passed over. 
It is a kind of Foundling Hospital, and one which, 
if secrecy be desirable, seems better adapted to meet 
the feelings of parties and the exigencies of the case 
than any thing I ever before heard of. The building 
is of stone, with windows only in the front. In the 
gable end is a small aperture, in which is affixed a 
barrel turning upon a pivot, in an upright position, 
with a few staves out on one side. In an ordinary 
way the perfect side of the barrel is outwards, but 
whenever any are desirous of availing themselves of 
the institution, upon arrival at the spot, a few slight 
taps immediately arrest the attention of the residents, 
who as promptly, without either having or seeking an 
opportunity of observation, present the open part of 
the barrel to receive the haj)less consignment, which 
is no sooner made than the bearer decamps, the barrel 
is returned to its former position, and the little 
stranger being safely dislodged, receives at once, and 
during the first years of its infancy, such care and 



SANTA CRUZ General Remarks. 2CA 

attention as are here deemed requisite ; after which, in 
the simple fashion of the country, it soon learns to 
cater for itself, and subsists in various ways. I was 
not a little amused with this unique establishment 
upon my first discovery of it, but good and evil are 
often too much blended together, and in this in- 
stance their connexion is obvious. It no doubt 
fully and effectually prevents the horrid crime of in- 
fanticide, but at the same time removes a very 
primary incentive to correct conduct and virtue in the 
female, and trenches fearfully upon the " chaste 
connubial tie," which is, amongst the peasantry, (to 
whom these remarks solely apply,) very generally 
dispensed with. 

I have spoken of the Fort, but as may be sup- 
posed, it is rather a name than a reality. It is 
situated on a point of rock overlooking tlie sea, at 
the south-east of the town. There are not more 
than two or three guns mounted, and no regular 
soldier, T believe, in the island. 

There is nothing like a bay or harbour at Santa 
Cruz. The coast about the town is low, and very 
rocky, so that only small vessels can approach near 
it, and these have sometimes to beat about for days, 
and even weeks, before it is safe to attempt it, and 
always upon their arrival are immediately hauled 
up, upon rollers, by main strength, out of the water, 
to the bottom of the street, leading down to the 
port, a distance of forty or fifty yards, to secure 
them from the surf, which frequently breaks here, as 
elsewhere, with great violence. There is ancl)orage 



262 SANTA CRUZ General Remarks. 

(the best tlie island affords) at a mile or two from 
the town ; but it is such as is altogether dependant 
upon the wind, and vessels must be prepared to 
put off to sea whenever that becomes unfavourable. 
Two schooners belonging to individuals at Santa 
Cruz comprise the shipping of Flores. They make 
annually several trips to some of the other islands, 
with grain, cattle, orchilla, and woollen stuffs — rather 
of a rude manufacture — which they exchange for 
wine and other commodities. A iev/ schooners from 
the other islands also occasionally visit Flores, be- 
yond which it has little communication with them, or 
the rest of the world, except an American whaler, or 
other vessel puts in for refreshments, or like us, in a 
case of dernier resort and distress. 

The Government of the island is chiefly vested in 
two authorities, called the Governor and the Judge, 
every way worthy representatives of their wretched 
master, Don Miguel, who having present possession 
of the throne of Portugal, exercises dominion over 
all the Azores, excepting Terceira, which espouses 
the cause of Donna Maria. The power of these 
petty tyrants appears of a summary and absolute 
character, extending to the prevention of any one 
launching a boat, or going to a vessel, although in 
distress, without their permission; and to the impri- 
sonment, during their own pleasure, of whoever upon 
meeting them, or even passing their houses, omits the 
ceremony of taking off the hat. With these specimens 
of despotism, it were a farce to talk of jurisprudence, 
and as superfluous to add that the people generally art:- 



SANTA CRUZ General Remarks, 263 

in a state of abject and degrading vassalage ; but 
inured to subjection, they submit without repining, 
and, cultivating their fertile lands, or engaging them- 
selves in fishing, obtain much more than a supply 
for their limited wants, and are contented and happy : 
— would that as much could be said of others under 
more enlightened and liberal systems ! 

Both men and women, for the most part, though 
rather short, are well made and healthy; their com- 
plexions clearer than those of the Portuguese on 
the continent of Europe; but their features are nt)t 
unfrequently wanting in expression, if I except their 
fine black eyes, the beauty and brilliancy of which 
but render the contrast the greater. That class of 
society in the island whose means exempt them 
from the necessity of labour, lead a life of exces- 
sive indolence and supineness, scarcely relieved 
by amusements of any kind; even walking seems 
too great an exertion for them, and riding is out of 
the question, for there is scarcely either horse, mule, 
or ass in the island. Fourteen or fifteen hours, out 
of the twenty-four, they frequently spend in bed. 
The men, except when they appear in public, are 
almost slovenly in their dress, and no sooner enter 
the house, after having been out, no matter what 
the hour of the day, than their visiting attire is put 
oft', and the undress resumed. The women are much 
more neat and cleanly in their dress and persons; 
their manners are unaffected, and their dispositions 
kind and obliging; but, destitute of those accom- 
plishments, and, in fact, of opportunity of acquiring 
z 2 



264 SANTA CRUZ General Remarks. 

them, which distinguish female society in polished 
communities, they appear to great disadvantage to 
strangers. They go even less frequently from home 
than the men, and their seclusion scarcely differs, but 
in name, from that of the convent. If, however, they 
have not the refinements, they are at least exempt 
from many of the follies and dissipations of a more 
public and fashionable life, and, were there not a 
medium in adjusting the balance between the good 
and evil of the two, T, for one, must give the pre- 
ponderance altogether in favour of the ladies of 
Flores. 

The dress of the peasantry has nothing very pecu- 
liar in it. They rarely wear either shoes or stockings ; 
nor, except when dressed for church, &c., any cover- 
ing upon the head. On these occasions the women 
completely envelop both head and face in the im- 
mense hoods of their cloaks, or in large white hand- 
kerchiefs, which they hold out before them as far as 
the arm can extend, keeping them closed in front, 
except just so much as enables them to discern their 
way ; and the fingers with which they are held are 
usually ornamented with a ring or two, which they 
appear studious to display. They have a purple 
flower, very common in the fields, which they call 
" the JVun," so exactly resembling this costume, that 
one would almost think it had furnished them with 
the hint for its adoption; but whilst the one is simply 
natural and graceful, the other is equally unbecoming 
and preposterous. 

The style of living, that is, of cookery, amongst the 



SANTA CRUZ ^General Remarks. 265 

better class, embraces rather too much of soups, ra- 
gouts, and made-ups, to relish with English taste. 
Scarcely a joint appears at table that has not been 
spoiled, in some way or other, of its fair proportions. 
If it succeed to soup, it is nothing^ more than a collec- 
tion of dry, insipid shreds. The soup, to be sure, is 
all the better for it, and with rice, vermicelli, and such 
like et ceteras, is excellent; but woe to those who 
make reservation, or think to thrive upon the meat ; 
—it is about as nutritious and satisfying as the pith cf 
a bulrush. It is not the custom to help each person 
separately, but to cut and hand round the table a 
number of slices upon a plate, as we do cheese, and 
no one commences until all are served ; an etiquette 
which is repeated with as many courses as may be 
introduced, and becomes quite a tiresome and formal 
observance. A little wine is drank during dinner, 
but the American fashion obtains of rising and with- 
drawing instantly afterwards. Three meals are taken 
during the day : — breakfast on rising, often at a late 
hour, of coffee, tea, eggs, &c. ; — dinner, from one to 
two ; and tea, or some slight repast, at six or seven in 
the evening, which is no sooner concluded than all 
creep off to bed, seemingly wearied out with their day 
of nothingness. 

Yams and potatoes constitute the chief food of the 
peasantry; sometimes a little fish; and water, or the 
light wines imported from the other islands, their 
only beverage. They are an industrious, inoffensive 
race, though not quite free from a disposition to 
pilfer when oppoitunity offers, or so we found them; 



266 SANTA CRUZ General Remarks, 

perhaps it may be more from strangers than amongst 
themselves. Any of the greater crimes are rarely 
known amongst them. 

Provisions are very cheap. Beef, pork, and bacon,-'^ 
excellent. Sheep are small, and seldom used for 
food, the wool -being considered the most valuable 
part of the animal. Poultry and fish are in great 
plenty, as are also rabbits, quail, and pigeons; the 
latter precisely the same as our common blue dove- 
cote pigeon, but quite in a wild state. The pursuit 
of them afforded some of our party no little diversion, 
but they are rarely molested by the natives. The 
peasantry care nothing about them, and the gentry 
are too idle for sportsmen. 

The roads of the island are of the most rugged 
kind, narrow, and, in many places, but mere pas- 
sages worn amongst the rocks. I am not very 
ready to coin excuses for abridging the exercise of 
walking, but so intolerably bad did I find them, 
that, besides one or two severe falls, for some days 
after landing I was scarcely able to hobble along 
at all, and destroyed more boots and shoes in three 
weeks than would commonly serve me for as many 
months. The peasantry, however, travel over them 



* A very singular custom prevails of shaving the backs of their 
hogs. I have asked them if the operation is performed in com- 
pliment to their friars; but the reason they assign for it is, that 
it has a tendency to make them spread in fattening. If it be so, 
the secret is worth knowing; but I am sceptical enough to believe 
that their yams and Indian corn, upon which the animals are plen- 
tifully fed, are much more concerned in producing the effect than 
the razor. 



SANTA CRUZ Interment of an Infant. 267 

with their naked feet, thinking^ no more of inconve^ 
nience than if pacing the turf of a bowling-green ; and 
when their betters are inclined, or have occasion to 
travel, for a mere trifle they will carry them in ham- 
mocks, upon their shoulders, half over the island. 

Goods and produce are conveyed upon a kind of 
small dray, or oval platform, drawn by oxen. It is 
a rudely-constructed thing-, altogether of wood, and 
when in motion the creaking- of the wheels is, to un- 
accustomed ears, beyond any patient endurance ; but 
if ever I sug-gested the application of a little grease, 
I was invariably assured that the noise had an enliven- 
ing effect upon the oxen, and that it was the study of 
the driver to produce it in the greatest possible de- 
gree : thus foiled, I could but let them creak on, 
lamenting that the ears of their oxen were pitched to 
no finer key, or that their own carelessness and indif- 
ference, to which I ascribed it, should so readily fur- 
nish them with an excuse for the non-suppression of 
the nuisance. 

Of one occurrence which took place during our 
stay at Santa Cruz, namely, the interment of an infant 
after the rites of the Catholic church, — a ceremony I 
had never before witnessed in a strictly Catholic 
country, — I have preserved this notice:— The father 
of the child was baker-general to our company, 
and upon going into his house I saw the little 
thing lying in state. The coffin was placed upon a 
table, in the middle of one of the rooms, which con- 
tained scarcely any other furniture, with a large cross 
at the head of it, and surrounded by a number of wax 



268 SANTA CRUZ Interment of an Infant. 

tapers. It was of very slight manufacture, not more 
in substance than a bandbox, covered with marble 
paper, and opening with hinges at each side; the 
ends raised to a point in the centre, so that when 
closed the upper part formed a kind of roof, which 
was merely tied together in two places by ribbands. 
The body was dressed with the nicest care, and depo- 
sited in it, with a bunch of flowers in the hands, 
which were joined upon its breast. In a short 
time as many friars as the room would well con- 
tain, with shaven crowns, and in long dirty cloaks, 
made their appearance, and stationing themselves 
around the table, lighted the tapers which were stand- 
ing upon it, and each, besides, holding one lighted in 
his hand, they commenced the loudest and most 
inharmonious chanting, if such indeed it might be 
termed, I ever heard. This was continued for about 
twenty minutes, when the priest and curate arrived, 
and the former being presented with a pan of incense, 
which, when ignited, filled the whole place witli the 
most odoriferous perfume, passed it three times over 
the coffin; he then laid it down, and taking from 
under his robe a long narrow phial, the top of which 
appeared to be perforated much like that of a pepper- 
cruet, thrice sprinkled the face of the child with the 
holy water, which it was said to contain. One or two 
of the friars then took up the coffin to convey it to 
the church, the cross being carried before it, and the 
priest heading the procession. The remainder of the 
friars, with a few relatives and other attendants, with- 
out much observance of order, walked on each side 



SANTA CRUZ Inicniicnt of an Infant. 269 

and in the rear; the former, at intervals, chanting- as 
loudly and vociferously as before. When they ar- 
rived at the church, the body was taken to the 
upper part of it, and again placed upon a table, in 
the midst of lighted tapers, and nearly the same 
ceremony of chanting, sprinkling-, and incense burn- 
ing which took place in the house was repeated here, 
each friar holding- a lighted taper, from three to five 
feet in length, — one similar to which, as a mark of 
respect to a stranger, was handed to me by the father 
of the child, which I held until the conclusion of the 
scene. The coffin, with its contents, was ultimately 
let down through a trap-door, into a vault by two 
friars, by means of a cord attached to each end of 
it, who, as they lowered it, swung it from side to 
side, bawling out a requiem well nigh sufficient to 
disturb the slumbering inhabitants beneath. On its 
reaching the bottom, the cords were thrown in, and 
the flaming incense having been passed three times 
over the opening, the trap-door was replaced, and the 
friars and others extinguishing their tapers, laid them 
upon the table, and the assemblage dispersed, — leaving 
upon my mind a mingled impression of pity and dis- 
gust for the deluded or designing actors in the scene, 
which to me displayed so much of the ludicrous as to 
divest it altogether of the solemnity which ought to 
attach to the occasion. But if even rites like these can 
be performed by men professing Christianity, and by 
rational beings, with sincerity, I am too much a friend 
to liberty of conscience, and universal toleration, to 
wish to treat them with levity and disrespect, and 



270 SANTA CRUZ FubHc Sale. 

willingly forego those comments I might otherwise 
be tempted to indulge in, though I could not avoid 
asking myself again and again, during the day, 
Is this really the nineteenth century, and can such 
things he P 

On the 3rd of November, there was a sale by 
auction of the various articles saved from our wreck, 
namely, 200 barrels of flour, (or what remained of 
that quantity, some having been used for bread for 
the passengers,) the sails, rijging, cables, &c. It 
had been generally notified throughout the island, 
and also at Corvo, for some days previously, so that 
we had little short of one hundred persons present. 
The spot fixed upon for this vendue was an open 
space about the centre of the town. The auctioneer 
was a most uncouth character, much resembling the 
constable that attended upon us under the rocks, 
and like him carried a long black thorn stick, pacing 
to and fro in front of the people, receiving their 
biddings as he passed along. The sale occupied 
nearly the whole of the day. The flour was pur- 
chased for exportation, not being allowed to be 
consumed on the island, for the miserable price of 
one dollar and seventy-five cents per barrel — the 
other lots about in proportion. The Priest bought 
the bell for church service, for eight dollars and 
sixty cents. It was a galling consideration that 
property should be thus sacrificed ; but the case 
seemed without remedy, as there were only a few 
individuals with ability to make any purchases, and 
the expense of conveying tlie goods elsewhere would 



SANTA CRUZ Dinner at Mr. L, Borges^s, ^c. 27 1 

only have made bad worse, and the exertion used 
to save them at all altogether thrown away. 

I observe the following memorandum of the day : — 
This day has been the most lovely and enchanting, 
both in brilliancy and temperature, I ever experienced, 
and were it not for the known anxiety of friends in 
England, I could be well content to exchange its 
dreary winter months for the spring-like softness of 
this luxuriant clime, of which I begin to envy the 
residents more and more. 

It is with much pleasure that I speak of the great 
kindness of Mr. Borges and his family to Captain B. 
and myself, as well as of his care and attention, in 
his official capacity, for the rest of the passengers and 
crew, amounting absolutely to solicitude on their be- 
half; nor must I omit to mention the hospitality we 
experienced from other of his relatives, as also from 

a Spanish gentleman, Don Mariano H , (he 

merchant of Flores. 

Upon dining with Mr. L. Borges, the brother of 
our friend, who entertained us with much generosity, T 
was introduced to a new species of etiquette, namely, 
that of the master of the house and one of his sons 
assisting the domestics in waiting upon their guests, 
who were put in possession of the top and the bottom 
of the table, whilst his lady and the family, with the 
rest of the. company, were seated along the sides. 
Whether our worthy host and his son dined before or 
after us, or whether they dined at all, T know not ; but 
I do know, that, notwithstanding the marked attention 

it was designed to evince, it would have been abun- 
2 A 



272 SANTA CRUZ AND 

dantly more agreeable to me if they had dined with us. 
Wine was taken at dinner much after the English 
fashion, and our host did not fail, I believe, to drink 
to the health of every one separately, and to wish us 
a safe return to our native land. 

This gentleman has a very fine orange plantation 
at a short distance from the town. It is situated on 
the side of a hill, which serves as a protection for the 
trees in the violent gales which sometimes occur here, 
and with serpentine walks leading from the bottom to 
the top. Upon a platform about the centre is a capa- 
cious summer-house, planted around with choice 
shrubs and flowers, where the family usually spend 
some portion of the year, and where, were I proprietor, 
I should most gladly spend the whole, there being 
no "pale concluding winter" here to "shut the scene," 
but now, in mid November, all is freshness, and 
beauty, and odour. Most of the trees in the plantation 
are young, but in a very thriving state, and in a few 
years will yield a supply fully equal to exportation. 
At present no fruit is exported from Flores. 

The Island of Corvo, at the nearest point, is about 
three leagues distant from Flores; but during my stay 
I had not an opportunity of visiting it, nor did I feel 
particularly anxious to do so, having seen a good deal 
of it on our approach, and the description I received 
of it holding out but few inducements. It is not more 
than one-fourth the size of Flores, very mountainous 
and rocky, and contains but about nine hundred in- 
habitants. 

Since the time of our landing from the wreck we 



DEPARTURE FOR FAYAL. 273 

had anticipated the necessity of proceeding to Fayal;, 
(distant from Flores about one hundred and twenty 
miles in a south-easterly direction,) or some of the 
other islands having intercourse with England, where 
we might take passage by a trader, or charter a vessel 
of sufficient size to convey us to our ultimate destina- 
tion ; to facilitate which Mr. Borges was indefatigable 
in his exertions. The two schooners, before mentioned 
as belonging to Santa Cruz, of about thirty or forty 
tons burden, happening to be in port at the time, he 
immediately proceeded to treat with their owners for 
our transit in them to Fayal, and terms were no 
sooner agreed upon than we commenced preparing 
them for sea. It was not until the 10th of November 
that the first schooner was ready, nor until three days 
afterwards that the wind permitted us to get her off; 

but on that day (the 13th) we succeeded in 

launching her with thirty-seven of the passengers. Pre- 
viously, however, another schooner arrived from Fayal, 
and, ultimately, it being considered that the number of 
passengers still remaining, together with the luggage, 
reduced as it had been, with great loss to the owners, 
was more than, ought to be embarked on one of these 
little vessels, it was concluded to put her also in requi- 
sition. This we were enabled to despatch on the fol- 
lowing day with forty more of the passengers, the re- 
mainder of us intending to set sail next morning in the 
third; but the wind changed, and stormy weather suc- 
ceeded — so much so as to occasion many fears for the 
safety of those already on their way. Whilst we were 
thus detained, a schooner arrived from St. Michael's, 



274 DEPARTURE FOR FAYAL. 

for a cargo of orchilla,''^ consigned to Don Mariano, 
the owner of the remaining schooner we had engaged, 
who proposed to us to transfer the charter to the one 
from St. Michael's; assuring us that the orchilla, which 
would occupy but little space, was all ready to be put 
onboard, — that she should take nothing else, — and im- 
mediately that was shipped should proceed with us to 
Fayal. At the time, seeing no objection to this propo- 
sition, and the stateof the weather rendering it impos- 
sible to launch his schooner; the one from St. Michael's 
being already without the Bar, in the hope of avoid- 
ing delay we acceded to it. To our mortification, 
however, we soon found, that besides the orchilla they 
were detaining the vessel to complete her loading 
with wheat, whale oil, pigs, &:c. &c., several casks of 
the oil being lashed upon deck. This infringement 
of the agreement, of course, caused remonstrance, and 
much unpleasant altercation, almost determining us 
to relinquish the idea of going by her at all, and 
obliging Mariano to send his own schooner with us as 
originally stipulated. Things continued in this state 
until the morning of the — 17th, — when, in considera- 
tion of Mariano's previous kind offices to ourselves, and 
also of his being the friend of Mr. Borges, to whom we 

* 1 have mentioned this amongst the exports. It is a weed of a 
grayish colour, valuable for producing a crimson dye, and monopo- 
lized by the Government. It grows principally amongst the rocks 
of the coast, from whence it is obtained by the peasants, oftentimes 
with extreme difficulty and risk. One of them had lost his life in 
attempting to procure it just before our arrival at the island. The 
price given to these poor creatures for collecting it does not exceed 
threepence per pound, whereas ihe Government obtains upwards of 
a. shilling ! 



DEPARTURE FOR FAYAL. 275 



were so highly indebted, and who proposed accom- 
panying us to Fayal, upon receiving a positive pro- 
mise that nothing more should be sent off to the 
schooner, we consented to go on board, and took our 
leave of Santa Cruz and many of its kind-hearted 
inhabitants, whom I shall long and gratefully remem- 
ber. — It was about ten o'clock when we reached the 
schooner, and we were then given to understand that 
she was not cleared ; nor was she ready, for presently 
other boats appeared with a still further quantity of 
loading, the property of the Governor. This was 
something too bad to be borne, and the captain of the 
schooner appearing to connive at the imposition, 
anchor being weighed, one of our party took possession 
of the helm ; the sails were unfurled, and we set off, 
regardless of the risk we run in not having our 
clearances, and we had to thank Mr. L. Borges 
for following us some distance in a boat to bring 
them to us. — The abruptness of our departure from 
a spot which had afforded us so welcome a shelter 
I very much regretted, but am inclined to think 
that Don Mariano had scarcely the option of refus- 
ing to take the goods which the Governor wished to 
send; and to this underling in ''brief authority" I 
attribute every thing of a disagreeable character con- 
nected with leaving, as well as the little occurring of 
that nature whilst upon the island. 

And now, ''once more upon the waters, yet once 
more," we had only to wish for a fair wind and 
quick passage, the craft we were in, (formerly one of 
Miguel's store ships,) being wholly devoid of acconi- 



2 A 2 



276 PASSAGE -AND 

modation, and much the worse for wear. Including 
captain and crew, we numbered about fifty souls on 
board ; — as motley a group as is often seen: videlicet, 
English, Scotch, Irish, American, Portuguese, two 
Jews from Morocco, — the elder a Shylock personi- 
fied,-T-pigs from Flores, and dogs from St. Michael's. 

Until ten o'clock in the evening we had very 
little wind, when it began to rain and blow fresh 
from an unfavourable quarter, and so continued 
for the most part of our voyage, which surpassed 
in wretchedness, (excepting danger,) all previous 
experience. For three days and nights, the whole 
of the rest which I got was upon a coiled wet 
cable on deck; the little box in the stern, denomi- 
nated a cabin, being too insufferably offensive to 
enter, stuffed with people and luggage, and literally 
swarming with bugs. To add to the evils on deck, a 
cask of whale oil got stoved in, and its contents 
ran all about, so that, independent of the stench, 
it was with difficulty we could move or stand: — but 
I spare the reader a recital, loathsome even in reflec- 
tion, and pass on to the morning of the 20th 

by day-break on which we were close in with the 
west end of Fayal, the density of the atmosphere 
not having permitted us to discern it before, and Pico 
being wrapped in a mantle of cloud down to its very 
base. The wind had now almost died away, and 
the ocean began to assume a lake-like smoothness : 
our sails were flapping idly against the masts, and 
scarce a dying murmur of the waves was audible 
upon the rocks of the coast. As the sun arose, the 



APPROACH TO FAYAL. 277 

mists gradually dispersed, and never shall I forget 
the scene of beauty and of grandeur which then 
unfolded itself to our view. On our left lay the 
highly cultivated and luxuriant Fayal, a very Eden 
of loveliness, and before us, in all its sublimity,' 
towered the mighty Pico. A few clouds still hung 
upon the sides of the mountain, but the sun was 
shining brilliantly upon the peak, which, from its 
immense height, and the obstruction below, had 
more the appearance of being suspended in ether, 
than of any thing resting upon a basis of earth. 
Its elevation above the level of the sea is not con- 
sidered so little as 7,000 feet, and in clear weather 
it can be discovered seventy, and, it is said, even 
ninety miles off. But notwithstanding the sublime 
and exciting scenery by which we were sur- 
rounded, such had been the miseries of this short 
voyage, and such my eagerness to be again on 
land, that (I almost write it with a blush) I 
would have relinquished all for a few hours of 
fair wind to have brought us to an anchor in the 
Bay of Orta. We lay till noon almost becalmed, 
when a light breeze sprang up; but, to our mor- 
tification, just against us. Being scarcely more 
than a mile from land, often did I propose to 
have recourse to our boat, or even to swim ashore, 
rather than endure this very lazer-house of filth for 
another night ; but I was assured by those more 
familiar with the arbitrary exercise of power than 
myself, though merely passing from one island to 
another, and our history and object well known. 



278 AT ANCHOR IN THE BAY OF ORTA 



that no one would be permitted to leave the vessel 
until we had been visited by the officers of both the 
revenue and health departments, and received their 
sanction to land. There was, therefore, nothing left 
us but submission to our fate, whatever it might be. 
At length I did manage to get the boat over, and several 
of our crew and others betaking themselves to the oars, 
we commenced the towing process. At intervals the 
wind so nearly died away, that, with great exertion, 
we were able to effect something ; but again it vexa- 
tiously thwarted us, and drove us backward farther 
than we had advanced; and thus, hoping and fear- 
ing, advancing and receding, we continued until 
near six in the evening, when the tide turned in our 
favour, and we found ourselves slowly entering the 
channel between the islands of Fayal and Pico; and 
as soon as we were discerned from the fort of Orta, 
the capital of the former, several revenue officers 
came off to us, bringing us the agreeable intelligence 
that we should not be allowed to land before morn- 
ing. Owing to eddy ivinds and calms, which, from 
the height and contiguity of the mountains, are very 
frequent amongst these islands, we did not come to an 
anchor until ten o'clock ; shortly after effecting which, 
having lowered the sails, Mr. Borges and mj^self stowed 
ourselves away amongst them, and I may almost 
say slept for the first time since quitting Santa Cruz. 
When we awoke in the morning, we found ourselves 
safely moored within half a mile of the town, the 
appearance of which from the Bay is uncommonly 
fine and imposing, forming, with the projections of 



APPEARANCE OF THE TOWN, AND LANDING. 279 

high land at either end of it, the most perfect and 
splendid amphitheatre. The town is built close to 
the shore, from which it rises to a considerable 
elevation, interspersed throughout with gardens, 
orangeries, and other plantations. It contains a 
great number of churches, convents, &c., which, "on 
first appearing before the little city, give it an air 
of architectural magnificence;" and viewing it alto- 
gether, you would be ready to estimate its extent 
and population at, at least, double what it really is. 

It was ten o'clock before the officers of the health 
department came off to us, and near three hours after 
that before boats were despatch^ to convey us 
ashore. Some had been occupying this interval 
in sundry attempts at purification, and, it must be 
confessed, put on a rather more civilized aspect ; but 
as for me, though I felt myself one of the filthiest of 
human beings, so I was determined to remain until 
I could eflject my escape from this abode of defile- 
ment, and luxuriate in a thorough ablution. I have 
before said, and heard it said, that it is worth enduring 
extremes for the sake of their opposites: — I would not 
endure filth for any thing, — but surely I never in my 
life more highly estimated the value of soap and 
fresh water, or arrayed myself in clean linen with a 
more exquisite satisfaction, than when they were pre- 
sented to me upon landing in the city of Orta: — I 
seemed, indeed, as if I could scarcely have enough of 
either the one or the other ; and fervently hoped, if 
this were a fair specimen, that I had for ever finished 
my sailing under Portuguese colours. 



280 ORTA Mr. Dahneifs. 

1 had scarcely made my toilette when the American 
Consul, C. W. Dabney, Esc[., most kindly called upon 
Mr. Borges, Captain Britton, and myself, with an invita- 
tion to dinner, which we gladly accepted, and accom- 
panied him to his residence, — an elegant mansion, 
and which, for the magnificent beauty of its situation, 
has seldom indeed a parallel. It stands on the 
acclivity of a hill, in the centre of a garden, delight- 
fully overlooking the town and bay, whilst imme- 
diately in front lies the vine-covered Island of Pico, 
with its lofty and majestic peak. The garden, which 
is most tastefully laid out, displays a rich variety of 
tropical and European trees and plants; — the orange, 
lemon, banana, fig, vine, apple, pear, myrtle, geranium, 
rose, &c. growing luxuriantly together, with " flowers of 
every scent and hue " As contrasted with the scenes 
which had been passing before us for some previous 
days, it seemed rather like the work of enchantment 
than reality, nor were such impressions in any degree 
lessened when our kind magician introduced us to 
the interior of his abode, and to the attractive family 
circle by which he was surrounded. It was one of 
the quickest and most agreeable transitions in situa- 
tion and feeling I ever experienced, — from a want of 
the commonest comforts of existence, to the enjoyment 
of its very luxuries ; and from society of the lowest 
grade, to that of those replete with every refinement, 
and manifesting a truly generous and friendly interest 
in our fate. — After thus enjoying ourselves for the 
remainder of the day, in the evening, there being at 
Oita, as at Santa Cruz, no hotel, or other establish- 



ORTA Call upon Mr. Walker. 281 

ment of the kind, we retired to a vacant house on the 
outskirts of the town, wliich, upon landing-, we had 
requested might be engaged, and partially furnished 
for our accommodation. Upon trial, however, it 
proved every way inconvenient and ineligible; so 
that betimes in the morning we sallied forth to 
reconnoitre the town in quest of a better, and 
succeeded, at last, in taking two small rooms in a 
house about mid- way along the main street, which, 
though nearly as destitute of cleanliness and comfort 
as those we had quitted, were much more agreeably 
situated, and, as we were assured, the best the town 
afforded — that strangers would be likely to gain ad- 
mission into. 

Before noon we were again honoured with a call 
from Mr. Dabney, repeating a kind invitation to 
dinner, which, gratified as we had been on the 
previous day, we were in no mood to refuse. 

In the course of the morning I paid my respects 
to the British Yice-Consul, Mr. Walker, (a pleasant, 
gentlemanly man, but, unfortunately, blind,) who 
having taken charge of the British subjects, had 
written to Mr. Read, the Consul-General, residing 
at St. Michael's, for instructions how to proceed in 
conveying them home. He informed me of the 
steps which he had taken to provide, as far as pos- 
sible, for their comfort; evident indications of which 
I had not failed to observe in the renovated attire 
of most I had met with, and some of whom, I doubt 
not, fared infinitely better at Santa Cruz and Orta 
than they ever did before, or, it is to be feared, ever 



'2S2 ORTA Fredon'ta House, ^c, 

will again. I received from this gentleman every 
polite attention, accompanied with offers of any as- 
sistance it was in his power to render me. 

The afternoon of the day folly realized the agree- 
able anticipations of the morning in the intelligent 
and interesting society of the family at (what I shall 
term) Fredonia House; fiom whence we were not 
suffered to take our departure until, in the hand- 
somest manner, I may say delicately so, to remove 
any diffidence on our part, Mr. Dabney desired us to 
consider the invitation extended to every day whilst 
we remained at Orta, and that, when not interfering 
with other engagements, we would visit them, with- 
out the least ceremony, upon all occasions. 

For several succeeding days my mornings were 
spent in perambulating different parts of the island, 
and my afternoons chiefly at Fredonia House ; or in 
walking, or riding out (for Mr. Dabney supplied us 
with most beautiful ponies) as inclinaton might 
prompt. — But were it not for the obligations I feel 
myself under to this gentleman and his family, I 
should be reluctant to intrude myself so much into 
the foreground of the picture. It is time also that I 
offer a few more general remarks upon the place and 
its people. 

The Island of Fayal (which is said to derive its 
name from the Faya, a beautiful kind of beech-tree 
growing upon it) lies in latitude 38"* 30' and lon- 
gitude 28° 41' 2". It is about the same size as 
Flores, though very differently formed, its length and 
breadth being nearly alike. It is also much less 



ORTA General Remarks. 283 

mountainous, and, of course, contains a far greater 
j^roportion of cultivated land, of equal richness and 
fertility. The climate is deliciously fine, said even to 
surpass that of the Azores generally: — but perhaps, in 
a few words, I cannot give a better description than I 
find in a valuable nautical work,* which I happen to 
have in my possession, and from which I shall take 
the liberty of making further extracts. It observes, 
" This island has been celebrated for its excellent 
pastures, fish, wood, &c. The air is always mild and 
pure ; the cold of winter never felt, and the heat of 
summer always tempered by refreshing winds. Its 
inhabitants are computed at 17,000. The island pro- 
duces wheat and maize, sufficient for itself and a part 
of Pico. The cattle reared here are not sufficient for 
the consumption of the island, and supplies are 
therefore sent from the neighbouring island of St. 
George, which produces a great number. The annual 
produce of wine is also scanty; for that which is ex- 
ported hence is mostly from Pico, the opulent people 
of Fayal being owners of the best vineyards in that 
island ; and they ship the wines from the port of 
Fayal for the dififerent ports of Europe and America." 
Oranges are now cultivated to a considerable extent, 
and the flavour of the fruit is very fine, quite equal to 
that of St. MichaePs. Several cargoes are annually 
exported to England; but I understand from those 
engaged in shipping them, that from the perishable 
nature of the fruit, the damage it often sustains on 

* Purdy's Memoir, 8tc. for the Atlantic Ocean. 
2b 



284 ORTA General Remarks. 

the passage, the uncertainty of a market, and various 
other causes, taking the average of years, they have 
found it a losing speculation. Fayal is not so well 
supplied with water as some of the other islands, nor 
is its quality equally pure and good. It contains, 
besides Oita, nine or ten villages; but as the first 
named could only prove of interest to strangers, I 
shall confine my remarks accordingly. 

The Villa Orta (which I have before partially 
noticed) is situated on the south-east side of the 
island, and its population is estimated at more than 
5000. The principal street, which runs nearly pa- 
rallel with the shore, and extends throughout the 
whole leng-th of the town, is irregular, in many parts 
narrow, and roughly paved. From this several small 
streets ascend to the level above the town, along 
which there is a pretty good road, though not adapted 
for carriages, to the village of Flamingo, about five 
miles distant, and other places. The houses, vastly 
superior as they are to most, even of the best in Santa 
Cruz, are built much after the same fashion, generally 
of limestone, two stories high, with glazed folding- 
doors, and balconies, of course, — essential, I conceive, 
to the very existence of their owners, as without them 
they would certainly either inadvertently precipitate 
themselves into the street, or expire for want of a 
lounging-place. The lower rooms, in the main street, 
are chiefly occupied as shops; amongst which those 
of tailors and shoemakers abound, who are to be seen 
sitting at their doors (the only part at which light is 
admitted) throughout the day in the exercise of their 



ORTA General Remarks. 285 

profession. Boots and shoes are remarkably cheap, 
and handsomely made, though they do not wear so 
well as the English. The other shops, equally dark 
and incommodious, are very variously furnished. I can 
not better designate them than as little general stores. 

The public buildings, as said, are chiefly (or so 
styled) of a religious character, — monasteries, con- 
vents, &c. ; appearing, like many other things, to the 
greatest advantage when viewed from a distance. 
They are then conspicuously ornamental to the place; 
a distinction of which a closer inspection very much 
divests them, the front being the only part displaying 
the least architectural taste. This is generally very 
lofty, and whitewashed, '' terminating in the centre in 
a curved line pediment, containing some emblematic 
religious device ; and a square tower at either side, 
with circular-headed windows, black quoins, cornices, 
belting courses, &c. ; and surmounted by Turkish or 
Arabic turrets. The rear presents nothing more than 
a plain building of rough masonry.'* Amongst this 
description of edifices I may include one or two nun- 
neries, several of the inmates of which I frequently 
observed peeping through their latticed windows, 
whether with 

" Each flattering hope subdued, each wish resigned," 

I know not, but certainly without 

" All beauty's treasure opening on the cheek." 
The numbers of the pious sisterhood, I was in- 
formed, were much diminished a few years ago, 
during the sojourn in the place of a company of the 
gallant sons of Mar§; since which but ie-w votaries 



286 CRT A General Remarks. 

have offered tliemselves, and the mania (if I may so 
term it) appears altogether on the decline. 

Orta is said formerly to have been a place of consi- 
derable strength, and in the hands of either the English 
or Americans would easily be rendered impregnable; 
but it is not now strongly fortified. The principal 
forts are at the south end of the town, and appear to 
be tolerably garrisoned ; but the military force of the 
island is greater than common, the soldiers engaged 
in the unsuccessful attempt to reduce Terceira to the 
dominion of Miguel having been landed here, and for 
the present are quartered in Orta. A high and sub- 
stantial stone wall is built along the whole front of 
the town ; but I imagine as much to protect it from 
the tide, which often rolls and thunders against it 
with desperate fury, as for the purpose of defence in 
case of attack ; at all events it would be found no very 
serious impediment to vigorous assailants. 

Fayal, in the Bay of Orta, affords the best anchor- 
age of any of the Azores, "excepting that it is open to 
the winds from north to north-east, and from south-east 
to south-west ; and these winds are frequent in winter. 
That from the south-east is often very destructive, it 
blowing right in.*' So lately as last year Mr. Dabney 
had a fine brig driven ashore, the very morning she 
was prepared to start on her voyage, laden with 
wines, &c., and lost, with nearly all her cargo. The 
crew, I was told, were with difficulty saved, princi- 
pally through his own very active exertions. 

During the non-intercourse of America with Eng- 
land, preceding the late war, this was the principal 



ORTA General Remarks. 287 

depot for American produce, and from whence a 
large amount found its way to England, which, I 
am sorry to say, greatly frustrated the justifiable and 
pacific intentions of the American Government t9 
eflfect the rescinding of our iniquitous Orders in 
Council, as well as the prevention of the impress- 
ment of her seamen into the British service. 

Here, as at Fiores, provisions are exceedingly cheap. 
Beef, though not the largest, without any exception 
the finest flavoured I ever partook of, selling only for 
2d. sterling a pound. Fish and poultry are also very 
plentiful, and equally good. Some quantity of cheese 
is made upon the island, but the quality of that is 
inferior; nor can I say any thing in favour of the 
bread ; it is brown, tough, and insipid. The style of 
living, as well as the society of the better class in 
Orta, I should suppose only differs in its degree from 
that of Fiores; but as I visited with no Portuguese 
family during my brief stay, I am unable to speak 
to particulars. Besides Mr. Walker, there are several 
respectable English residents. 

The peasantry are just the same sort of people, — 
a quiet, hardy, and industrious race, and possess 
all the necessaries of life in great abundance: but 
they will perform the heaviest labour for the most 
trifling consideration in money. Numbers of them I 
saw carrying boxes of oranges, weighing two to three 
hundred weight, from the gardens at Flamingo, where 
they were packed, to Orta, (five miles,) for a pistaree?i, 
or tenpence ; and you will generally meet them at- 
tended by dos^s, so remarkable for their fatness that 
2 b2 



288 ORTA General Remarks. 

you are ready to query what they can have been fed 
upon to produce such an effect; but I am satisfied there 
is something in the climate very congenial to these ani- 
mals, since, if they are brought upon the island from 
other places, ever so lean, in a month or six weeks, 
without any extraordinary feeding, they become as 
fat as those bred on the island ; and the dreadful dis- 
ease of hydrophobia is wholly unknown. Oxen and 
asses are the principal beasts of burden ; but I saw 
even fewer carriages, of any description, than in 
Flores ; nor are the roads much better adapted for 
them. Ploughing at both places is always performed 
by oxen, and the soil is so uncommonly rich and fine 
that the ploughs have not a particle of iron about 
them, (excepting, perhaps, the few nails which may 
be used inputting them together;) and I observed 
the peasants merely ran them through the ground, 
turning nearly an equal furrow on either side. But 
little art is requisite to raise crops on the cultivated 
lands of the Azores ; such is their fertility, that seed 
would almost grow if thrown on the surface. There 
are fewer stone or pumice-stone walls in Fayal than 
in Flores, the fields often being fenced with a sort of 
cane reeds, which grow twelve or fifteen feet high, 
and form excellent hedges ; they are used also for 
thatching the cottages, and various other purposes. 
The peasants manufacture very handsome baskets 
from willows that grow upon the island, and great 
quantities of them are exported to the other islands, 
as well as to the Brazils. They are generally red 
and white, a part of the willows being dyed a scarlet 



ORTA Visit to the Caldera. 289 

colour. A 7iest of them, as it is termed, (fifteen or 
twenty of intermediate sizes, fitting within each other, 
the largest capable of containing three bushels, and 
the smallest scarcely a goose's Q^g,) may be pur- 
chased for about two dollars. 

I omit other things which might seem of more 
importance, as it is my intention presently to devote 
a ^ew pages to those of the Azores which I have not 
already spoken of, and as in many respects so great 
a similarity exists between them, it is unnecessary 
to indulge in general comments upon each. 

November 27th. — Before we had risen from breakfast 
this morning we received a very polite note from 
Mr. Dabney, proposing, if agreeable, as the morning 
was particularly favourable, that we would avail our- 
selves of it to visit the Caldera, an immense, though 
now exhausted crater, upon the extreme height of the 
island. There was, of course, little reluctance on our 
part to comj^ly with the kind suggestion, and equip- 
ping ourselves for the excursion, we proceeded to 
Mr. D.'s, where we found Mr. Frederic Dabney, a 
younger brother of the Consul, with asses and at- 
tendants prepared to accompany us, and soon after 
nine o'clock we commenced the ascent. The dis- 
tance, by the route we had to pursue, was about 
ten miles; for the first two or three of which the 
road was nearly level and of little interest, but after- 
wards it began to rise considerably, and winding 
along over a high ridge of hills, commanded a view 



290 URTA. — — Visif to the Cahlera. 

of the most transcendant beauty. A richly-cultivated 
plain, with orange groves and ever-verdant fields, 
interspersed with the neat white cottages of the pea- 
santry, extended for some miles on either side, and 
at the foot, gracefully retiring from its lovely bay, 
appeared the convent- crowned Orta. Pico was un- 
commonly clear, from base to summit, which I had 
scarcely seen it before since our landing, and an 
object of inconceivable grandeur. Though the day 
was comparatively calm, the surf was breaking high 
upon its rocky shores, forming around them a girdle 
of the most snowy whiteness, and the sound being to 
us perfectly inaudible, tended to favour the decep- 
tion ; while to the west, serenely slumbering, and as 
if never more to be awoke by storm or tempest, lay 
the blue and boundless ocean. Again and again did 
I pause enraptured with the scene, — in all its variety, 
richness, beauty, splendour, and extent, the most 
transporting I ever beheld. I felt, if it would but 
have remained the same, as if I could have gazed 
upon it for ever ; and had I not been reminded by 
my companions of the object which had induced the 
excursion, the Caldera, much as I had desired to see 
it, might have stood over for future opportunity, — I 
must have lingered out my day of admiration here. 
Moments like these are the purchase of years, and 
they are worth it, — sweet in possession, still sweeter 
in retrospect: the bright spots on the dark ground 
of our existence : once realized they can never cease 
to charm ; the mind recals them in its happiest 



ORTA Vhil to the Caldera. 291 

musings through after years ; they create its happiest 
musings, and "pass like spirits of the past/' bringing 

"The day, the hour, the sunshine, and the shade, 
All things pertaining to that place and hour" 

in fair review before us. The scene itself may vanish, 
— the recollection never. 

Pursuing our route we continued at every step 
mounting higher and higher, and at length arriving 
within three miles of the summit, we dispensed with 
our steeds, and one of our attendants returning with 
them to the village of Flamingo, which we had left 
about two miles in the rear, the other with a basket 
of refreshments accompanied us on foot. The re- 
maining distance, alternately bog and rock, (not the 
most desirable footing for pedestrians,) was of much 
less arduous ascent than I had anticipated, and before 
one o'clock we had gained the southern edge of the 
crater; of the magnitude of which, having purposely 
been kept a little in the dark, I had formed no con- 
ception, and stood for some time on the brink in 
almost speechless astonishment. The form of the 
immense cavity, as the name, Caldera, may imply, is 
very similar to that of a caldron or basin. Its circum- 
ference at the top is about six miles, — the diameter 
consequently two, — gradually contracting in its de- 
scent to a circumference, at the bottom, of perhaps two 
miles. The entire depth of il is estimated at 4000 
feet, and it is even thought by some to be on a level 
with the sea. 

When the first overwhelming sensations of amaze- 
ment had a little subsided, the day being now on the 



292 ORTA Viait to the Catdera. 

wane, I proposed to my companions to make the 
descent; but neither appearing- to manifest any such 
disposition, without a guide, and almost without direc- 
tion, I determined to undertake it myself. For the 
first part of the way down I pursued nearly a direct 
course, sometimes scrambling through bushes, and at 
others rolling over rank and slippery beds of moss, as 
wet as rain or dew could render it, and in which 
I frequently sank more than a yard deep. But 
afterwards it became fatiguing in no small degree, 
the only passage I could discover being a rocky and 
most tortuous water-course, often seeming to ter- 
minate in abrupt projections, from which I had to 
jump or fall, as the case might be, until I found it 
again amongst the thickly interwoven shrubs which 
were arched over it. At length, however, with jump, 
ing, tumbling, and rolling, soaked to the skin, I 
arrived at the bottom, and confess my sensations 
were not of the most agreeable character, when, 
after descending experience, on first casting my eyes 
upwards, I contemplated the difficulty of a re-ascent, 
a reflection, too, which in addition to the advanced 
hour of the day, left me little opportunity for obser- 
vation — none worth recording; — nor do I imagine 
from the period which has elapsed since the crater 
was in a state of conflagration, that, except in the 
peculiarity of its form, its appearance is strikingly 
dissimilar from that which it might have presented 
hid it been occasioned by other violent convulsion 
of nature; — a question, however, fitter for geologists 
than me. The surface at the bottom is nearly level; 



ORTA Visit to the Caldera. 293 

for the most part very wet and bogg-y ; the centre is 
wholly covered with water, though of no great depth, 
and containing' quantities of gold and silver fish. 
Near the part where I descended, but quite de- 
tached from it, there is a huge mass of rock and 
earth of considerable height, which has also a large 
cavity on its summit. 

The whole scene is calculated to inspire the most 
sombre ideas and impressions; even the water, from 
the great depth of the crater, and the dark foliage 
which hangs upon its sides, assumes an inky black- 
ness. No kindly sunbeam penetrates to exhale the 
heavy vapours which stagnate in the air; but the 
atmosphere is chill and damp. 'J'he storm may 
howl its fury ; but it is heard not. The roar of 
ocean never reaches here. Solitude reigns supreme, 
and all is mute and motionless, save the sea birds, 
which, wheeling around you in rapid eddies, keep 
up a loud and incessant screaming as if to scare 
you from their dreary retreat. It requires almost 
an effort of mind to believe that such things as 
cities, and the busy hum of men, have any where 
an existence, or that you can ever again behold 
them. You are lost in conjecture at the mysterious 
agency which once filled this mighty vacuum with 
sulphureous matter — how it has so totally disap- 
peared — by what unknown causes it may be again 
produced — or where it may be still raging; — but 
speculate and ponder as you will, all is doubt and 
mystery, and you end but where you began, in 
knowing, in determining — nothing. Had I allowed 



294 ORTA Visit to the Caldera. 

myself, however, much farther to indulge the reverie 
into which my situation, so full of the novel and 
exciting- was leading me, I must have been content 
to amuse myself with it during the night, for which 
various cogent reasons disinclining, I turned at once 
to the somewhat more feasible, but still vastly per- 
plexing proposition of a re-assent, which, wherever 
meditated, put on a most formidable aspect. I had 
unwisely determined, supposing I could not change 
for the v/orse, to make the attempt in another cpiarter 
from that in which I descended; and after surveying 
the crater around, awfully precipitous as it ap- 
peared, fixed upon the northern side. I accordingly 
floundered on through bog and water, until I had 
gained what appeared the most eligible part, and 
here — for nothing less I found it — commenced the 
arduous struggle. For the first 500 feet or so it 
was difficult and dangerous in the extreme ; the 
rocks, steep as they were, being in addition, in con- 
sequence of the water which was perpetually trick- 
ling down from the top upon the moss that grew 
in their fissures, excessively slippery, and up these 
I had frequently to pull myself as high as I could 
reach, and cling till I could gain a fresh footing, 
conscious the while that one false step would have 
been inevitably fatal ; and that, after all, however 
fearful the alternative, finding it impracticable to 
proceed, I might be compelled to return. The last 
reflection had perhaps the good effect of stimulating 
me to still greater exertion to accomplish my pur- 
pose, and thus struggling on, with but little im- 



ORTA Visit to the C alder a. 295 

provement for one-third of the way up, at that dis- 
tance I had the good fortune to stumble upon a 
sort of track, as rugged as you please, but still a 
track, and worn by human feet. — I afterwards dis- 
covered that the peasants had proceeded thus far 
down the side of the crater for the purpose of cutting 
wood, which accounted for the abrupt commence- 
ment of the path, as well as for there being no 
communication between it and the bottom. — Such 
as it was, however, I pursued it, until, by a most 
circuitous and wearying course, it landed me at 
length on the summit, a position which T regained 
with feelings of no ordinary satisfaction, exhausted 
as I was both by long fasting, and the severe exer- 
tion I had used. I had then to continue windinor 
round the edge of the crater, for about three miles, 
until I reached the spot from whence I started, and 
where, instead of meeting with my friends, I found 
the servant left with a note, informing me of their 
having sought for me in vain, and that almost in 
despair of seeing me again, they had taken their de- 
parture for Flamingo, where, if I were fortunate 
enough to escape from my perilous exploit, I should 
find them awaiting my arrival. — Here then was a 
trudge of five miles further; but having rested a 
moment, and refreshed myself with a draught of 
excellent wine, pleased to be thus far landed, I 
again set forward^ and quickly arrived at the vil- 
lage, and the orange garden of our kind friend, 
Mr. Dabney, who, accompanied by Mr. Borges and 
members of his own family, had rode out thus far 
2 c 



296 CRT A JV. S, de la Quia. 

to give us the meeting, and with my morning's 
companions did not fail to congratulate me upon 
the feat which I had performed, assuring me that he 
had never before heard of any individual attempting 
the ascent of the crater on the northern side, and, in 
fact, that it had been deemed impossible:—! would 
not willingly be again called upon to demonstrate its 
practicability. — After partaking of a bountiful re- 
past, which our generous host had provided us, we 
mounted our steeds, and returned to his residence 
at Orta, adding one more to the many charming 
evenings we had passed there, and I retired not a 
whit the worse for my ten hours' toil, (estimating it, 
however, equal to a ramble of fifty miles on level 
ground,) and with a feeling of interest in the ex- 
cursion and events of the day which I shall long 
retain. 

On the following morning, in company with Mr. 
Frederic D., I ascended one of the projecting 
mounts at the south of the town, which is fortified, 
and very finely commands the entrance of the bay. 
On the top of it, to which the ascent is pretty steep, 
is a hermitage, dedicated to Our Lady of Giiia. 
(N.S. de la Guia.) At its southern extremity, which 
is altogether rock, there is a tremendous cavern, 
called the Devil's Hole, and where, in a storm, Mr. D. 
informs me, the roar of the surge is truly appalling. 

Connected with this mount is a smaller one, the 
soil of which is of a deep red colour, exactly re- 
sembling that of Pico, and in appearance as if it 
had been burnt for ages, which it most probably 



DEPARTURE FOR ENGLAND. 297 

has. It is totally unlike any other to be found 
upon the island, and is the only land in it de- 
voted to the cultivation of the vine. To the west of 
this is a sandy cove, called Port Pin, where small 
vessels frequently anchor, in favourable weather; 
but it is quite open to winds from the south-west. 

The nearest point of Pico from Fayal is but 
about four miles, and I very much regretted that 
I had not an opportunity of visiting the island, and 
ascending the peak ; but during the early part of 
my stay in Fayal, the surf was breaking so violently 
upon its shores, that it was not thought prudent for 
a boat to venture, and afterwards being in daily 
expectation of sailing, I could not absent myself 
from Orta. I must, therefore, be content very briefly 
to notice it with the other islands. 

December \st. — Captain B. and myself having de- 
termined upon pursuing our course to England by 
the first possible chance, soon after our arrival at 
Orta engaged the cabin of a small schooner, which 
had been some time waiting for a cargo of oranges, 
and was to have sailed on this day, but frequent 
showers preventing the loading of the fruit, she was de- 
tained until the following afternoon ; — when, bidding 
adieu to our kind friends at Fredonia House, &c., 
we were conveyed on board the Kitty, such the no- 
menclature of our little vessel, William Johns, master, 
bound for Plymouth; — and rarely indeed have I taken 
my departure from a scene and from friends with a 
heavier heart than I quitted Orta. Mingled was 



298 DEPARTURE FOR ENGLAND. 

the association of ideas and feelings which crowded 
upon me: but ten days ago I had landed here, and 
place and people were alike unknown and indif- 
ferent to me; now I regarded the former with a 
high degree of interest, and my acquaintance with one 
family at least, had ripened into the warmest senti- 
ments of gratitude, regard, and esteem. I could leave 
both with the most lively and unfeigned regret; the 
more so, from the possibility, (I will not write pro- 
bability,) wliich existed of my never meeting them 
again. Such is the ever-varying, the checkered allot- 
ment of life ! how transient, how uncertain is all that 
it presents to us ! how little of the morrow can we read 
to-day ! What mere chances, as they would seem to 
us, serve to bring parties together who may never 
even have heard each other's names before : — to form 
friendships which you would deem a real acquisition, 
and wish to cultivate and enjoy : — to open some of 
those fairy scenes of nature, lovelier than fancy had 
painted them; and just when all is beginning most 
to charm and rivet itself upon you, and, rather than 
resign it for ever, you are tempted to wish you had 
never known it, the spell is rudely broken, and the 
harsh sentence of separation sounds in the ear, and 
saddens on the heart ! You feel — but I check myself: 
if there is pain, there is also pleasure in the retrospect. 
Most have passed the ordeal : I envy not those who 
cannot. 

I would be the last to offend with panegyric, but 
I must be forgiven in saying that it never was my lot 
to be introduced to a more interesting or agreeable 



FREDONIA HOUSE. 299 

family circle than that of the Dabney's — one in which 
a stranger would, or ought, sooner to feel himself at 
home. Mr. Dabney is, in all respects, the finished 
gentleman, well-informed and intelligent above the 
common, of highly fascinating manners, with a dispo- 
sition nobly generous, and kind and courteous to all, 
one whom bat to know, must be to respect and ad- 
mire : — I will not, however, particularize where all are 
so truly amiable and deserving — where all alike de- 
mand my ardent and devoted thanks. Most gratifying 
to me was it to witness the delightful harmony which 
reigned throughout this establishment. Truly might 
each be said to share the bliss of others. There 
seemed, as it were, to be no division of interest or 
feeling, — none of those petty envyings and dissensions 
which are just enough to ruffle the surface of social 
pleasures, but mutual good will and affection predo- 
minant in every breast; refinement, without aflfecta- 
tion ; and polish, without display. Though, in every 
domestic arrangement, the nicest taste was observ- 
able, the useful and convenient were not therefore 
thrown heedlessly into the back ground, as things of 
no moment. Whether alone, or surrounded by guests, 
an elegant table alike was spread, but there was no in- 
sipid, hackneyed observance of etiquette or formality ; 
and, to crown the whole, you felt fully assured of the 
hearty sincerity of the welcome. The very words of 
obligation, intrusion, and so forth, seemed as unin- 
telligible sounds to the whole household. — Such was 
the circle into which, with no other recommendation 

than that of an unfortunate stranger, I was here 
2 c 2 * 



300 FAREWELL ADDRESS. 

unexpectedly introduced. I ask the reader's pardon 
for the insertion of the following effusion,* which I 
penned upon taking my leave : — it might not, indeed, 
be worth transcribing, but as a record of emotions 
which the past had inspired, and which the future 
can never obliterate ; — a sense of the deepest gratitude 
for favours received, and the sincerest desires for the 
happiness and welfare of my generous benefactors. 
Long may Heaven preserve them, and crown their lives 
with the best and choicest of her blessings ! 



TO MR. AND MRS. DABNEY, 

AND THE MEMBERS OF THEIR WORTHY FAMILY, 

UPON MY LEAVING ORTA FOR ENGLAND. 



My worthy friends ! or ere we part 
And I, with no exulting heart, 

Pronounce the word adieu ! 
(Although from off a foreign strand, 
I steer towards my native land,) 

My grateful thanks are due. 

And thanks e'en more than I can pay, 
Or more than feeble words may say. 

Or feebler pen express ; 
Yet trust me, where engraven deep 
The record stands for time to keep, 

I shall not feel it less. 



• Originally very hastily written, and not intended to meet the 
public eye. 



FAREWELL ADDRESS. 301 

No, oft will memory seek to dwell 
O'er scenes that I have prized fidl well, 

Nor leave without regret ; 
And though my fate hath seemed severe, 
And wreck and peril cast me here, 

I grieve not we have met. 



So fair an isle from ocean's wave, 
As if by Heaven decreed to save, 

And wrest his greedy prey : 
What, though in fancy I might trace 
Semblance of such a resting place, 

I thought not to survey. 



And not alone a land I've found, 

With nature's beauties richly crown'd, — 

Nor blooms the year in vain : 
But safe within a genial zone. 
Our wintry blasts are all unknown, 

To sweep the smiling plain. 



Here Flora holds her lovely court, 
And with Pomona seems to sport 

In ever gay costume. — 
Here Pico rears his monarch head, 
And rocks and mountains wildly spread, 

And wilder billows boom. 



What transport, Nature for our guide ! 
Conductress fair ! who asks beside, 

Or whether grave or gay, 
But just to mark thy footsteps free, 
And rove, as here I've followed thee, 

Along the devious way I 



302 FAREWELL ADDRESS. 

Yet still I've found what charms me more- 
The kindest hearts — the open door — 

The welcome all sincere ; 
Warm, generous, sympathizing friends, 
Prompt to devise each fair amends 

And make e'en exile dear. 



I've seen one social circle meet, 
In harmony and union sweet, 

Each other's bliss to prove. 
Seen brothers own " the kindred band," 
(Too oft destroyed by discord's brand,) 

" Of Friendship, Truth, and Love." 

And elegance, that innate grace, 
Apart from pride, which may deface 

Her all-attractive mien ; 
And minds with each endowment fraught, 
And gay luxuriance of thought, 

With sportive wit between. 



These have I found — these have I priz'd- 
These have I fondly realized, 

Nor ever deem'd to find : 
And Orta^s name, and Dabney^s worth, 
Where'er I rove, or rest on earth 

I never leave behind. 



We part, indeed, and Heaven can say. 
Alone, when next our meeting-day, 

And seas may roll between ; 
But seas nor time can e'er erase 
The cherish'd memory of this place. 

Or banish what hath been. 



AZORES. 303 

Peace to thine house, thrice honour'd host ! 
I pledge thee with as warm a toast 

As parting guest e'er gave : 
And wovild that it might e'er be mine 
To pay the debt to thee or thine, 

No happier boon I'll crave. 



Peace — and Farewell ! and if that word 
Were ever uttered, ever heard, 

All honest from the heart, 
I speak it now, — may time fulfil 
The prayer responsive to my will, — 

And with that wish depart. 



Orta, December 2nd. 



AZORES. 

And here, in place of presenting the dry detail of a 
sea journal, let me be allowed to fill up the interval, 
and fulfil my promise, by adding such general notice 
of the Azores, and of the remaining particular islands, 
as I find in the work already referred to. 

"The Azores, (originally Ilhas dos Azores, or Isles 
of Hawks,) or Western Islands, are nine in number, 
and named Santa Maria, or St. Mary's, St. Miguel, 
or St. Michael's, Terceira, or Tercera, St. Jorge, or 
St. George's, Graciosa, Fayal, Pico, Flores, and Corvo. 
The land is, in general, high ; the coasts steep and 
rocky. 



304 AZORES— St. Michael's. 

" These islands are said to have been discovered 
about the middle of the fifteenth century by Joshua 
A^anderberg, of Bruges, in Flanders, who, in a voyage 
to Lisbon, was driven to them by stress of weather. At 
Lisbon he boasted of his discovery ; on which the 
Portuguese, in that spirit of enterprise so strongly 
manifested by them at this period, set sail and took 
possession of them, calling them Azores, from the 
many hawks and falcons found amongst them. 

" Antonio Gonzalo says that the great Don Henry, 
Prince of Portugal, considered these islands as so con- 
siderable an acquisition, that he went in person to 
take possession in 1449. This was forty- three years 
before Columbus landed in America: and it has been 
affirmed that the Flemish merchants, on the part of 
their countrymen, sent a colony thither, many of 
whose descendants continue in Fayal to this day. 
Hence the islands have been also called Flamingos, or 
Flemish Islands. 

" The capital of the Azores is (or was) Angra, in 
Terceira. 

" The inhabitants generally are an innocent, good, 
and honest people, who prefer the olive to the laurel, 
and who would seek for distinction rather by industry 
than by arms. The climate is delightful ; the air 
generally clear and serene ; the soil so prolific that 
both European and tropical plants arrive at the 
greatest perfection : the face of the earth is, however, 
so diversified as in some places to exhibit, within a 
small extent, volcanic hills and productions, gardens 
of aromatic plants, pastures, vineyards, orangeries, &c. 



AZORES St. Michael's. 305' 

The greatest inconvenience of these isles is their 
having been subject to eruptions and earthquakes, 
and in some parts, where the coasts are low, the sea 
has, at times, overflowed the land, and occasioned 
considerable mischief. Yet in the cultivated parts, 
the lava, once a stream of fire, is planted with oranges, 
lemons, and vines; and the land, formed from the 
decomposition of volcanic substances, is sown with 
Indian corn, small beans, and wheat. The islands 
still abound in waste lands, fit for the cultivation of 
hemp, the vine, &c." 

The following description of the appearances of St. 
Michael's will apply generally to the other islands : 

" The Island of St. Michael appears to have been 
originally a plain, covered with beautiful trees, rich 
verdure, and aromatic plants : at the present time, 
however, it consists of a number of mountains, hills, 
and declivities, none of which are primitive, but 
evidently the production of volcanic eruptions. The 
mountains and hills clearly indicate, by their conical 
figure and the cavity at their summits, their being 
the production of fire, and bear unequivocal marks of 
the effects of this destructive agent in an accumu- 
lation of lava, scoriae, and volcanic sand. Externally, 
the volcanoes appear extinguished, but they are sup- 
posed still to burn internally and invisibly : of this 
Caldeiras, or fountains of boiling water, in the valley 
of Furnas and other parts, are evident symptoms. 
Circumstances also aflford strong reasons for believing 
that there have existed three principal craters, whose 
vertex now form three great lakes, situate towards the 



306 AZORES St. Michael's. 

centre and the northern and southern portions of the 
islands. From these craters vast mountains have been 
thrown up ; and, in proportion as these ceased to vomit 
forth the matter, partial eruptions burst out, and 
formed the lateral hills and declivities which extend 
themselves in every direction from tlie mountains 
surrounding' the lakes. The cessation of fire from the 
different craters has been attributed to water, which 
appears to have gained access to each, and suddenly 
extinguished the effervescence of its mineral contents; 
and the fire now seems confined to stations, where it 
operates only in boiling water, with various degrees 
of activity and force. 

" Exclusive of the remains of burning volcanoes, the 
island presents decisive evidence of its having been 
the theatre of repeated earthquakes and convulsive 
shocks. In most countries, earthquakes are produced 
by sulphur and nitre, or by sulphur sublimed from 
pyrites, and ignited, in subterraneous caverns, by a 
fermentation of vapours, which gives an appulse to 
the neighbouring combustible matter, and causes it 
to be discharged with a noise like thunder, and some- 
times with an eruption of water and wind : but here 
the earthquakes seem to have been occasioned by a 
contrary cause ; by the bursting in of the waters 
upon the mineral fires ; an agency which must have 
instantly produced sudden blasts, violent explosions, 
rumbling in the bowels of the earth, and that lifting 
up of the ground above it, which occasions havoc 
and devastation till it gets vent or discharge. That 
this is the case, appears incontrovertible ; for many 



AZORES St. Michael's. 307 

of the existing extinguished volcanoes, which served 
as so many spiracles for the discharge of subter- 
raneous fire, are rent and torn asunder by the violent 
eflfervescence caused by the sudden conjunction of 
the two opposing elements. 

"The effect produced by this unnatural confluence 
of fire and water is not confined to fissures in the 
craters, and rents in the cliflfs ; some mountains have 
been precipitated into the adjacent valleys; others 
upset from their base ; and some swallowed up in the 
bosom of that earth whence they originally rose in 
lava, scoricL', and sand. The bases of the precipitated 
mountains exhibit palpable remains of decomposed 
substances originally produced on the surface of the 
globe; the strata of the mountains nearly upset is 
displayed perpendicularly, and not horizontally ; and 
those mountains which have been swallowed up have 
left behind them some frightful chasms, tremendous 
precipices, or form the beds of beautiful lakes. The 
more perfect mountains are of a conical or hemi- 
spherical figure, as formed by continued eruptions, 
and their exterior is distinguished by characters which 
denote the nature, and, in some measure, the date of 
the conflagration. The lava, on some, appears in 
craggy eminences ; and on others is in a state of 
decomposition, forming a soil highly fertile and pro- 
ductive. The various features of the ground show 
where the lava ran without interruption, only filling 
up inequalities in a lovely champaign country ; and 
where its course was impeded so as to leave insulated 
spots or oases^ covered with all the bloom of luxuriant 

2 D 



308 AZORES St. Michael's. 

vegetation, while encompassed by mountainous ridges 
of volcanic ashes, with ferruginous and pumice stone. 

"The island, at length, seems to be of such a struc- 
ture and conformation that the waters pass freely 
throughout its volcanic caverns, and are easily forced 
out without shaking or disturbing the earth. One hun- 
dred years have elapsed since the inhabitants have 
been terrified by volcanic explosions of a terrific 
nature ;* and what is now heard, and that perpetually 
in several places, resembles the flowing and ebullition 
of waters, with a dull noise like that of a heavy car- 
riage rolling along in rapid motion ; and it seems that 
in consequence of the introduction of the waters into 
the subterraneous caverns, and of the washing away 
of the sulphur and nitre from their arches, the fire 
has ceased to appear in frequent eruptions as for- 
merly, yet it operates invisibly on the waters con- 
tained in the caverns beneath. 

'' These observations, which were previously written, 
have been corroborated by a remarkable event. In 
the early part of the year 1811 a most awful and tre- 
mendous explosion of smoke and flames issued from 

* " The approximation to an eruption has, however, at times, 
appeared to have been very close. On the 11th of Avigust, 1810, at 
the hour of ten, p.m. slight shocks of an earthquake were felt, which 
continued, at intervals of a few minutes, for four hours. Between 
two and three o'clock next morning', a dreadful rocking was ex- 
perienced throughout the whole island ; several houses, unable to 
resist its violence, weie thrown down, and many others were greatly 
damaged ; and such persons as sought safety in the open air were 
dashed to the ground. On the eastern side of the island an orifice 
was discovered resembling the crater of a volcano, and out of which 
flames occasionally burst forth ; but they do not appear to have 
beeu accompanied by any ejecLiou of volcanic matter." 



AZORES St. Michael's. 309 

the sea, at the distance of half a league from the shore, 
at the western end of the island. From the depth of 
about forty fathoms in the ocean issued smoke, fire, 
cinders, ashes, and stones of an immense size. Innu- 
merable quantities of fish, some nearly roasted, and 
others as if boiled, floated on the surface of the sea 
towards the shore. Thus a dangerous shoal gradually 
formed.* On the 16th of June the crew of the Sa- 
brina, British sloop of war, observed two columns of 
white smoke arising from the sea, which they supposed 
to arise from an engagement, and made sail towards 
it, but were disappointed by the wind's dying away. 
The smoke continued to ascend, with volumes of 
flame, and they then concluded it was a volcano- 
Next day they were close in with the land of St. Mi- 
chael's, and found the volcano still raging. They 
learned, on the island, that smoke was first discovered 
on the 13th of June; two or three days previous to 
which there had been felt repeated shocks of earth- 
quakes in the capital of St. Michael's, which threw 
down several cottages and portions of the cliff towards 
the north-west, so that destruction was feared on the 
island ; but these ceased so soon as the volcano broke 
out. 

" On the 18th the Sabrina went so near to the 

" * The flames were first seen in the night of the 1st of of February* 
but invisible indications of its operation had been felt in shocks on 
the island from the middle of the preceding year. Its observed 
situation was south-west of Point Ferraria and due west from the 
Pico de Ginetes, at about a mile and a quarter from the nearest 
shore. — The ship Swift, with all her crew, were lost on this spot 
before the existence of the shoal was known," 



310 AZORES St. Michael's. 

volcano as she could with safety, and found it still 
raging with unabated violence, throwing up, from under 
the water, large stones, cinders, ashes, &c., accompanied 
with several severe concussions. About noon, on the 
same day, they observed the mouth of the crater just 
showing itself above the surface of the sea, where 
there were formerly forty fathoms of water. At three, 
p. m., same day, it was about thirty feet above the 
surface of the water, and about a furlong in length. 
On the 19th, they were within five or six miles of 
the volcano, and found it about fifty feet in height, 
and two-thirds of a mile in length; still raging 
as before, and throwing up large cjuantities of 
stones, some of which fell a mile distant from the 
volcano. The smoke drew up several water-spouts, 
which, spreading in the air, fell in heavy rain, accom- 
panied with vast quantities of fine black sand, that 
completely covered the Sabrina's decks, at the dis- 
tance of three or four miles. On the 20th they pro- 
ceeded on a cruise, leaving the volcano about 150 feet 
high, and still raging as formerly, and continuing to 
increase in size. On the 4th of July they again visited 
it, and found that a complete island was formed, 
and perfectly quiet. The captain and several officers 
landed upon it, and found it very steep, and its height 
from 200 to 300 feet. It was with difficulty they were 
able to reach the top, which they at last effected in a 
c[uarter where there was a gentle declivity ; but the 
ground, or rather the ashes, composed of sulphurous 
matter, dross of iron, &c., was so very hot to their 
feet that they were obliged to return. They, however, 



AZORES St. Michael's. 311 

took possession of the islet, in the name of his 
Britannic Majesty, and left an English union-jack 
flying on it. 

" The form was nearly circular, and the circum- 
ference of the isle, at this time, about a mile. In 
the middle was a large basin of boiling water, 
whence a stream, of about six yards across, ran into 
the sea, on the side facing St. Michael's; and at the 
distance of fifty yards from the island, the water, 
although thirty fathoms deep, was too hot to hold 
the hand in : in short, the whole isle appeared as 
a crater : the cliff on the outside as walls, steep 
within and without ; the basin of boiling water being 
the mouth, from which the smoke, &c. issued. 

" On the 17th of June, Captain Tillard, of the 
Sabrina, accompanied by Mr. Read, the British Con- 
sul, with two other gentlemen, proceeded over land 
to the cliff nearest to the volcano, and which was 
between 300 and 400 feet above the level of the 
sea. The first appearance it presented was that of 
an immense body of smoke revolving in the water 
almost horizontally, in varied involutions ; when 
suddenly would shoot up a column of the blackest 
cinders, ashes, and stones, in form like a spire, and 
rising to windward at an angle of from ten to 
twenty degrees from a perpendicular line. This was 
rapidly succeeded by a second, third, and fourth, 
each having greater velocity, and overtopping the 
preceding one, till they had attained an altitude 
as much above the level of the eye on the cliff, as 

the sea was below it. The columns of ashes, &c. 
2 u 2 



312 AZORES St. Michael's. 

at their greatest height, formed into branches re- 
sembling magnificent pines; and, as they fell, mixing 
with the festoons of white feathery smoke, at one 
time assumed the appearance of vast plumes of black 
and white ostrich feathers; at another, that of light 
wavy branches of a weeping willow. These bursts 
were accompanied by explosions of the most vivid 
lightning, with a noise like the continual firing of 
cannon and musketry intermixed; and as the cloud 
of smoke rolled off to leeward, it drew up the water- 
spouts, above-mentioned, which formed a beautiful 
and striking addition to the scene. 

" Subsequently, this islet fell, by degrees, into the 
sea; and in the middle of October no part was left 
above water; but a dangerous shoal remained in the 
place which it had occupied. In February, 1812, 
smoke was discovered still issuing out of the sea 
near the spot.* 

" St. Michael's is about thirty-five miles long, and 
from four to eight wide, and contains one city, 
five principal towns, fifty-four parishes, and about 
80,000 inhabitants The coast is very bold, and 
may be approached without fear in almost every 
part, the north-west side excepted. Its military 
strength consists of 300 or 400 troops, with a militia 
of several thousand peasantry, whose arms are the 
pikes with which they drive their cattle. The prin- 



* " About fifteen leagues to the westward, a volcano, which ha(! 
appeared in 1638, broke out from the sea in 1719, and disappeared 
in 1723. A depth of eighty fathoms was afterwards found on the 
.spot "hich it had occupied." 



AZORES St. Michael's. 313 

cipal fortification is the castle of St. Bras, which is 
close to the sea, at the western end of the city of Ponta 
del Gada. It is mounted with twenty-four pieces 
of cannon, but few of which are capable of service. 
A league to the eastward are two small three-gun 
forts, inefficient from decay and neglect. The island, 
notwithstanding, has many strong local holds; and 
several of the hills and passes, if judiciously for- 
tified, would be impregnable. The rich level coun- 
try is properly adapted for wheat, Indian corn, and 
beans, or callivances. In the lava districts are cul- 
tivated the vine and orange, which yield most abun- 
dantly. It is generally understood that the lava in 
the south-east region of the island is older, softer, 
and becomes fertile sooner, than that of the north- 
west, which retains such a degree of hardness as to 
be, in many parts, altogether incapable of yielding 
to human industry. In the intermediate parts, be- 
tween the volcanic lands and the level country, the 
surface exhibits volcanic sand, metallic slag, pumice- 
stone, &c. 

" The inhabitants of this and the other islands were 
formerly compelled by law to confine their trade to 
the port of Lisbon; but latterly they have been al- 
lowed a wider range, and maintain a considerable 
commerce not only with Lisbon, but with England, 
Russia, America, &c. From England they are en- 
tirely supplied with woollens, hardware, earthenware, 
and various other necessaries, sending in exchange 
about seventy vessels annually with fruit. To Por- 
tugal are sent corn, pulse, poultry, cattle, and vege- 



314 AZORES- St. Michael's. 

tables, winch are paid for in returns of tobacco, sugar, 
coffee, trinkets, dispensations, indulgences, images of 
saints, relics, &c. From America they receive boards, 
staves, lumber, rice, pitch, tar, iron in pots and bars, 
and a variety of Indian goods, which are paid for, in 
exchange, by wines. The intercourse with Russia is 
similar to that with America, but on a more con- 
tracted scale. There exists, also, a ready-money trade 
with vessels which make the island (or islands) for 
refreshments, the crews of which are furnished with 
cattle and provisions equal to the English, and to 
any in the world beside ; and also with wine, 
pleasant and peculiarly suited to the health of 
seamen. 

" The city of Ponia del Gada is the chief seat of com- 
merce. It is situated in the narrowest part of the 
Island, on the south-west side, in lat. 37° 45' 10" N., 
and long. 25° 41' 15" W. This town appears exceed- 
ingly pleasant from the offing, and derives an air of 
dignity from its numerous convents, &c. There is a 
mole for the protection of small vessels, but those 
of greater burden are compelled to ride in an open 
roadstead. By deepening and enlarging the harbour, 
it might be rendered capable of receiving vessels of a 
considerable draught; and, by excavating the square 
of St. Francis, and cutting a canal between it and 
the mole, a large number of vessels might be accom- 
modated. As it is, vessels of burden cannot safely 
use it; for they would risk the danger of slipping 
their cables, while loading or unloading, and, per- 
haps, not be able to recover their station for several 



AZORES SI. MichaePs. 315 

weeks; or, at least, not dare to attempt its recovery 
daring the prevalence of strong southerly gales. 

The roadstead and harbour of Ponta del Gada are, 
however, the best that the island affords. The place 
of next consequence is that called Ribeira Grande, 
on the north side of the island ; but here is no 
anchorage; and having no harbour, it is dependent 
for its commercial supplies on the towns on the south 
side. Villa Franca, which is on the latter, has a 
very inferior anchorage, and that for small vessels 
only. 

" The disadvantages arising from the want of naval 
conveniences are greatly aggravated by the customs 
of the country and its government ; but with all these 
disadvantages the country has improved, and exports 
annually about 15,000 tons of fruit, wine, and pro- 
visions, the amount of its surplus produce. Yet the 
arts, agriculture, and commerce are not carried to 
more than a twentieth part of the extent to which 
they might be ; nor is the population by any means 
proportioned to the extent of territory. 

" On approaching the north-west end of the island, 
from the westward, the appearance is very unpromis- 
ing, as it presents barren mountains of stupendous 
bulk, with a coast like many ramified pillars of ba- 
saltes, exhibiting at the top a few trees of stunted 
growth. The impression made by a scene of rough 
and craggy cliffs is, however, soon dissipated by a 
pleasing contrast on the southern coast, as this pre- 
sents a beautiful acclivity adorned by luxuriant vege- 
tation. Open pastures, bounded by woods, vineyards. 



.316 AZORES- St. Manfs, ^c. 

and corn-fields, interspersed with orange and lemon 
trees, every where meet the eye, and afford a land- 
scape extensive and various, that will always, in clear 
weather, be seen with delight." 



The Island of St. Mary lies to the south of St. 
Michael's, and is the most southerly of the Azores. 
Its principal town is of the same name, and is situated 
on the south-west side, in lat. 36° 58' N, and long. 
25° 12' 18"W. Besides this there are three villages 
containing together about 4,500 inhabitants. " The 
chief productions of the island are wheat and barley 
of the first quality, with some wine and cattle, but 
only sufficient for its own consumption. It has water 
in abundance, but of wood little, and a scanty propor- 
tion of fruit and vegetables. The Road of St. Mary's 
is open, and exposed to southern gales ; on this ac- 
count it is resorted to in summer by small vessels only. 
The best anchorage known to the pilots is about a 
mile from the coast, in a depth of thirty-six fathoms, 
bottom of sand; but at a short distance eastward the 
ground is foul. Hence it is that Port San Lorenzo, 
on the north-east side, is considered as the best an- 
chorage about the island. At either place refresh- 
ments may be obtained as at the other islands, with 
the addition of partridges, which abound here." — In 
size, the island is rather less than Fayal. 

" The Formiyas, or Ants, which lie to the north- 
eastward of St. Mary's, in hit. 37" 16' 50" N. and 



AZORES Tercelra. 317 

long. 24*^ 54' W., are a range of seven or eight high 
rocks, extending N.N.E and S.S.W. (N. and S.) 
about three-quarters of a mile, and among which 
there are other rocks under water. The highest, 
which is nearly sixty feet in height, bears, from a 
distance, some resemblance to the sails of a ship, and 
lies two-thirds of the length of the range towards the 
north. At the north part are many rocks under 
water. Close along-side is a depth of seven fathoms. 
• — The Formigas have a dreadful appearance, the 
breakers commonly flying higher than a ship's mast- 
head. At a time when the sea ran from the westward, 
no soundings could be found off the eastern side, with 
a line of fifty fathoms, until within thirty yards of the 
rocks. 

" Between the Formigas and the Island of St. Mary 
no bottom was found with a line of 120 fathoms, until 
within a quarter of a mile from the island." 



" The Island of Terceira is from eighteen to twenty 
miles long, and from eight to eleven wide. It is 
fertile, pleasant, and healthy. The lava districts here, 
as at St. Michael's, produce excellent vines, although 
not equal to those of the Canaries and Madeira The 
land yields large crops of wheat and other grain, 
pasture for cattle, and a prodigious Cjuantity of lemons, 
oranges, and all those fruits of hot and cold climates 
which are propagated to the greatest advantage in 
temperate countries. 



318 AZORES Terceira. 

" The capital, as already noticed, is Angra, situated 
on the south side of the island, in lat. 38° 38' 33" N. and 
long-. 27'' 12/ 33" W., and having a harbour, defended 
by a fortress, in which was wont to reside the Gover- 
nor of the Azores. It is distinguished by several 
handsome churches, convents, &c. Besides this there 
is another town, Pray a, and fifteen villages, all of 
which contain about 30,000 inhabitants. In the Bay 
of Angra, and around the island, fish of good quality 
are abundant. 

" The coasts are high, and so surrounded with 
craggy rocks as to render the island almost impreg- 
nable; every accessible part being defended by bat- 
teries, with heavy cannon, and a numerous garrison. 
The interior is, in general, moderately high, but the 
western side is higher than the eastern, and is distin- 
guished by a rugged mountain, extending nearly east 
and west, and of which the western extremity, Pico 
de la Serreta, is the most elevated. This peak may 
be known, at a short distance, by a great break on 
the eastern side. 

The Bay of Angra is open to all winds from the 
S.S.W., by the south to the east. The swell from the 
south-west, in jDarticular, which sets round Mount 
Brasil, (a remarkable forked hill near the sea, on the 
western side,) is tremendous. Vessels may safely re- 
main in the road in June, July, August, and Septem- 
ber, when the winds are light, and prevail from 
between west and north-west ; but on the commence- 
ment of winter the winds from the offing rage so 



AZORES Terceira. 319 

violently that upon the least appearance of bad 
weather it is requisite to put oft' to sea, the coast 
affording- no shelter. 

" The boats of the island come out so soon as any 
vessel is seen to anchor, and by them supplies may 
easily be obtained, even while keeping under weigh, 
tacking in and out, as they will bring water, wood, 
and all kinds of provisions." 

This, of course, refers to the slate of things prior to 
Miguel's dominion in Portugal. 

REMARKS ON TERCEIRA, BY CAPTAIN LIVINGSTON. 



** The City of Angra is generally very regular, the 
situation beautiful, and the streets have regularly 
excellent flagged footpaths. The houses are com- 
monly of three stories. 

" At about six and a half or seven miles north of 
Angra, in a valley near the summit of the mountains, 
a great deal of steam issues from crevices of the earth, 
or rather clay, which clay, I am informed by a scien- 
tific gentleman here, is actually lava, decomposed by 
the action of sulphuric acid. Some of the clay looks, 
when cut by a knife, much like Castile soap : it is of 
various hues, and the natives of Terceira use it as 
paint. There are small quantities of sulphur formed 
around some of the apertures. The steam which 
rises is very hot: we cooked some eggs by laying 
them among the clay, at mere cracks whence the 
steam issued. My thermometer ranged only to 152' 

of Fahrenheit's scale, I exposed it to the steam at 
2 E 



320 AZORES- 



the first aperture I reached, but the mercury rose so 
rapidly that, from fear of bursting the tube, I was 
obliged to withdraw it in, I think, about three or four 
seconds. Persons visiting Angra, who have any 
curiosity in their composition, should see ih'mfurnaso, 
or souffriere. The access to it is by no means very 
difficult, though if you ask any of the Portuguese, 
(I dare vouch for Captain Livingston's accuracy,) 
they will describe it as accessible only at some periods 
of the year. One may ride to within less than half 
a mile of it. Ponies or asses, and guides, may readily 
be hired. 

" No vessels should go to Angra without two good 
chain-cables; the bottom of the bay being generally 
too foul for any to trust in hempen cables. 

" The better sort of people in Angra (natives) are 
very hospitable and kind, but full of ceremony. The 
poor people are generally very clean, and none seem 
in want of the necessaries of life. None of that 
wretchedness which we so often see in this country 
is visible ; but many of the older peasants have their 
clothes, though clean, so industriously patched, that 
it is next to, or altogether, impossible even to con- 
jecture of what colour they originally were. 

" There are some fine pine woods in the island ; a 
good deal of boxwood, and some cedar. Plenty of 
juniper, the berries of which are so very strong as to 
leave, for a long time, a very unpleasant flavour in 
l,he mouth after chewing them. There is plenty of 
pumice-stone, but of a coarse quality, in the island, 
and every where marks of volcanic agency are appa- 



AZORES- Terceird. 321 

rent. Water is good, but not so easily procured as 
might be supposed. 

" The Terceira fruit (oranges) has improved much 
of late years ; more attention having been paid to its 
culture, and it is now little, if at all, inferior to the 
St Michael's. 

" Very good linen is made in the island, and they 
manufacture a coarse earthenware, the clay of which 
it is made being imported from St. Mary's. No 
noxious animal is known; nor, though there are many 
dogs, has hydrophobia ever made its appearance. 
The natives rear a great many swine, most of which 
are remarkably broad-backed. Their backs are gene- 
rally shorn, which, it is alleged, allows them to spread 
in fattening. 

" Bloody flux is very frequent, both among strangers 
and natives, and is often fatal. A Scottish surgeon 
there told me it was the worst disease he met with in 
the island.* 

" Vegetables are excellent and cheap : poultry and 
eggs good and reasonable : beef and mutton tolerable, 
the former about threepence per pound. Some of 
the island wine is tolerably good. 

" I was surprised to see a pretty fair bunch of 
bananas one day carried by a peasant. They have 
apples, pears, figs, chesnuts, and walnuts, and, I have 

* " It deserves to be known that the size of a hazel-nut of Castile 
soap, scraped fine and dissolved in about three wine glasses of boil- 
ing water, to which add half a wine glass of good spirits and a few 
lumps of white sugar, scarcely ever fails of curing bloody flux. Two 
or three doses may be required. I have tried it on myself and 
others with perfect success. — A, L." 



322 AZORES— -P/<?(?. 

lieard, some olives, with abundance of grapes. Goose- 
berries and currants, I am told, have been tried, but 
have not succeeded. They have a very fine tough 
willow, which makes excellent hoops and baskets; 
also plenty of yams, Indian corn, wheat, and excel- 
lent barley, also tolerable potatoes. The market is 
generally well supplied with good and cheap fish. 
Rabbits and quail are plentiful : thousands of black- 
birds, fine turkeys, few or no geese ; no peacocks and 
no pheasants ; a few red-legged partridges ; and I 
have heard it positively asserted that there are some 
grouse on the mountains, yet I doubt the fact. There 
is a great deal of orchilla weed — monopolized by the 
Government. 

" The north coast of Terceira should not be ap- 
proached by a stranger, as it is rocky and dangerous. 
The western coast is also inaccessible." 



Pica. —'' This island derives its name from the re- 
markable peak or volcanic mountain which stands 
upon it; the summit of which is in lat. 38° 26' 15" N., 
and long. 28° 27' 58" W., and terminated by a small 
sugar-loaf, so very regular that one w^ould think it 
had been made by art. The height of the peak above 
the level of the sea, according to the geometrical ope- 
rations of the French astronomers, is 1100 French 
toises, (about 1172 English fathoms;) and, conse- 
quently, in clear weather, it can be seen twenty- 
four or twenty-five leagues off; but it is frequently 



AZORES Pico. 323 

so obscured by clouds as not to be seen at any 
distance.* 

" The peak has been described as filled with dark 
volcanic caverns, which have frequently emitted 
smoke, flames, and ashes, to a considerable distance. 
At the foot of the mountain, towards the east, is a 
spring of fresh water, generally cold, but sometimes 
so heated with the subterraneous fire as to rush forth 
in torrents, in a boiling state, and sending forth a 
stream of sulphureous vapours, vitrified stones, &c." 

Pico, exclusive of the great inequalities of its sur- 
face, may be about twenty-five miles long, and from 
six to nine miles wide, though narrowing to the 
south-east, where it terminates in an obtuse angle : 
** it contains about 22,000 inhabitants, who occupy 
three towns and eleven villages. The soil being stony 
little grain is produced, and the greater part of the 
wheat and maize, for consumption, is imported from 
the neighbouring islands. The wine is the staple 
commodity, and is reputed the best in the Azores. 
This, with brandy, is exported in considerable quan- 
tities. The cattle are various, numerous, and excel- 
lent; fruit is abundant, and equally fine.f They 

* " The Spanish surveyors have since given the height of the peak, 
from its observed altitude, above the level of the sea, as 1212| 
Spanish toises, (1103 English fathoms only.) The mountain, they 
observe, covers the whole of the western part of the island ; its 
skirts, and even half way up, are cultivated with vines; the next 
fourth part by shrubs; and the last and highest part seems all of 
rock, covered with a very short grass. An ascent to the summit 
may be made, though not without difficulty, and some caverns 
afford occasional shelter." 

f Pico, I believe, produces no oranges. 
2 E 2 



324 AZORF'S Pico — — .S7. George's. 

have cedar and other timber, including a beautiful 
kind of yew, called Teivo, which is remarkably solid 
and fine; but which is monopolized by, and felled 
only by order of, the Government. 

The vino tinto of Pico, made from the Oporto vine, 
propagated in Pico, Captain Livingston thinks excel- 
lent; but it is not plentiful. The teixo wood, he 
says, is the same as our yew. 

" The principal towns and villages are Lagens, 
Pico, Santa Cruz, St. Sebastian, Pesquin, S. Rocca, 
La Playa, and Magdalena.'' The island affords no 
anchorage, and nothing but coasters can approach its 
shores. 

" Off the most prominent part of the western coast 
is the little port and isles of La Magdalena. From 
the town which stands here, the greater part of the 
produce of the island, for exportation, is shipped off 
for Fayal in small row-boats. The islets are sur- 
rounded with rocks; but very near the latter the 
depths are six, seven, and eight fathoms, rocky 
ground.'' 



*' St. George's lies at a distance of three leagues from 
Pico, and is separated from Graciosa by a channel 
eight leagues in breadth. It is a long narrow island, 
about nine leagues long, and not more than one in its 
average breadth. Its most easterly point, Ponta del 
Topo, lies W. I N., (W.S.W. | W.,) 30| miles from 
the summit of Mount Brasil, in Terceira, and in lat. 
38" 29' 22" N., and long. 27" 50' 27" W. 



AZORES St. George's. 32-5 

" On its south coast is tlie little town called Villa 
das Velas, or Vellas, with a port where small vessels 
may lie sheltered from all winds. 

" This island, when Tofino described it, contained 
more than 11,000 persons, in three towns and seven 
villages. He says that it produces much wine of a 
good quality. It has been famous for its cattle, with 
which it supplies other islands, and its cheese is said 
to be fine. The produce of wheat and maize is equal 
only to the consumption of a part of the inhabitants, 
as the lower class substitute the root of iname. Wood 
and fresh water are abundant. 

" On the 1st May, 1808, a dreadful volcano, seen 
from Fayal, burst out about the centre of the island, 
in the midst of fertile pastures, about three leagues 
south-east of Vellas. On the 3rd, a crater was 
formed, in size about twenty-four acres. In two 
days, it had thrown out cinders or small pumice- 
stones, which a strong north-east wind had propelled 
southerly; and which, independent of the mass accu- 
mulated around the crater, had covered the earth 
from one to four feet in depth, half a league in 
width, and three miles in length: then, passing the 
channel, did some injury to the eastern end of Pico. 
The fire of this large crater had nearly subsided on 
the 3rd of May ; but, in the preceding evening, 
another small crater had opened, one league to the 
northward of the large one, and only two leagues 
from Vellas. The sulphureous smoke of the new 
crater rendered impracticable an approach to the 
large one. Within a mile of the crater, the earth 



326 AZORES St. Geortje's. 

was rent in every direction. The Fredonian Consul 
of Fayal, who, with some friends, visited this place, 
stated that ''they at length arrived within 200 yards 
of the spot, and saw it in the midst of a pasture, 
distinctly, at intervals, when the thick smoke, which 
swept the earth, lighted up a little. The mouth of 
it was only about fifty yards in circumference, and 
the fire seemed struggling for vent. The force with 
which a pale blue flame issued forth resembled a 
powerful steam engine, multipled a hundred-fold — 
the noise was deafening — the earth where they stood 
had a tremulous motion — the whole island seemed 
convulsed; hollow bellowings were occasionally heard 
from the bowels of the earth, and earthquakes were 
frequent. After remaining here about ten minutes, 
they returned to town; the inhabitants had mostly 
quitted their houses, and remained in the open air, 
or under tents. They passed the night at Vellas, 
and next morning went by water to Ursulina, a 
small sea-port town, two leagues south of Vellas, 
and viewed that part of the country covered with 
cinders before mentioned, and which had changed 
the most valuable vineyards in the island into a 
frightful desert. 

" On the same day, (May 4th,) the party returned 
to Fayal ; and, on the 5th and succeeding days, from 
twelve to fifteen small volcanoes broke out in the 
fields they had traversed on the 3rd, from the chasms 
above described, and threw out a quantity of lava, 
which travelled on slowly towards Vellas. The fire 
of these small craters subsided, and the lava ceased 



AZORES — — SL George's. 327 

running about llie lltli of May; on which day the 
large volcano, that had lain dormant for nine days, 
burst forth again, like a roaring lion, with horrid 
belchings, distinctly heard at ten leagues distant, 
throwing up prodigious large stones, with an immense 
quantity of lava, illuminating at night the whole 
island. This continued with tremendous force until 
the 5th of June, exhibiting the awful, yet mag- 
nificent, spectacle of a perfect river of fire, (dis- 
tinctly seen from Fayal,) running into the sea. On 
that day,, the '5th, its force began to fail, and, in a 
few days after, it ceased entirely. The elevation of 
the crater from the sea was about 3,500 feet. The 
lava inundated and swept away the town of Ursu- 
lina, and country houses, and cottages adjacent, as 
well as the farm-houses, throughout its course. It, 
as usual, gave timely notice of its approach, and 
most of the inhabitants fled ; some few, however, 
remaining in the vicinity too long, endeavouring to 
save their effects, were scalded by flashes of steam, 
which, without injuring their clothes, took off not 
only their skin but their flesh. About sixty persons 
were thus miserably scalded, some of them died on 
the spot, or in a few days after. Numbers of cattle 
shared the same fate. The consternation and anxiety 
were so great among the people, that even their 
domestic concerns were abandoned ; and, amidst 
plenty, they were in danger of starving. Supplies 
of ready-baked bread were sent from Fayal for their 
relief, and large boats to bring away the inhabitants 
who had lost their dwellings. In short, the island. 



328 AZORES Graciosa. 

heretofore rich in cattle, corn, and whie, presented 
such a scene of desolation and distress as has rarely 
been witnessed in any country." 



'^ Graciosa is said to take its name from its beauty 
and fertility in corn, fruit, pasture, and cattle ; sup- 
plying Terceira and several of the other islands with 
a great part of its produce. It is the most fertile 
of all the Azores, and has about 8,000 inhabitants 
distributed in two towns and two villages. The 
greatest extent of the island is only eight miles and 
a half; but, in this extent, the quantity of barley 
which is produced is almost incredible, together with 
wheat, maize, wine, and all kinds of fruit and vege- 
tables. Of sheep, hogs, and fowls, the inhabitants 
have more than they can consume. The only scarce 
article is wood, which is obtained from St. George's 
and Pico. The chief town is Santa Cruz, on the 
north-east side; but the anchorage is to the south-east 
near Ponia del Carapacho, which is situated in lati- 
tude 39° 0' 0" N. and longitude 27° 57" 45" W. Here 
vessels load and unload, and are ready to be off 
with any winds; but they lie sheltered only from 
south by the west, nearly to north. All the goods 
from the town of Santa Cruz are brought to this 
anchorage to be shipped, as they have no other. 

" The Channels among the Azores are, in general, 
clear and deep, and may be navigated at all times: 
that, however, between St. George and Pico should 
not be attempted, unless in settled weather, or with 



AZORES. 329 



a steady breeze> for a sudden calm may prove fatal ; 
as a strong current runs through the channel, ac- 
cording to the state of the tide.'^* 



To these observations and extracts it is unnecessary 
for me now to make farther addition : should future 
opportunities (shipwreck always excepted) reland me 
amongst the very interesting group of islands to which 
they refer, perhaps I may be able to offer something 
better worthy of notice than any thing at least which 
I have said myself respecting them; and would that 
I might find them from under the dominion of the 
detested tyrant who now holds them in subjection — 
Terceira excepted, which, I have before noticed, has 
espoused the cause of Donna Maria ; but this I am 
inclined to attribute much more to foreign agency 
and example than to any ambition of the Portuguese 
themselves: they appear to me a people altogether 
without energy or enterprise, content to lead a life of 
the most worthless and degrading indolence, and, if 
that be only conceded, ready to crouch to any tyrant 
who may chance to usurp supremacy over them. 
Terceira, for some time past, has been cut off from all 
communication with the other islands, or elsewhere, 
having been closely blockaded by Miguel, and we 
have frigates there acknowledging the blockade, whilst 
the pitiful tyrant is suffered to rob and plunder our 
merchants with impunity; and yet we call ourselves 
Britons! It was in reference to this subject that I 

* " And we suspect, too, according to the state of the Florida 
Stream, especially when it flows from a liigh northern parallel." 



330 AZORES. 

was addressed by a foreigner nearly as follows: — 
" Sir, formerly if Eiigland said or did a thing, we 
knew, and the world knew, at once, what she meant 
by it, but now there is so much assumed mystery, 
tampering, equivocation, and insincerity in her foreign 
policy, that it is difficult to comprehend, and still 
more difficult to trust any thing she says or does. 
How is it, SirP We ascribe much of it to the mili- 
tary Duke who now presides in your Cabinet, and 
who, however familiar he may be with the ruses and 
artifices which war may sanction, displays none of 
those qualifications which are necessary to direct the 
aflfairs, and uphold the renown of a great nation like 
England. And did he not, at the time of Mr. Can- 
ning's coming into office, acknowledge his own utter 
incompetency to fill the situation P It would have 
been well, indeed, if his conscious inability — very 
commendable diffidence — or any thing else had kept 
him out of it." — I could but own the justice of the 
gentleman's observations, and arrive at the like con- 
clusion.* As to Terceira, however, she will carry 



* Since penning these remarks a new era has dawned npou us, 
and but for the benefit of contrast I would most gladly cancel them. 
Wellington and Peel, and the old Tory boroughmongeriug faction 
are gone, I trust, for ever;— we have a patriot king,— an enlightened 
and liberal ministry willing to keep pace with the growing intelli- 
gence and enterprise of the times; — v/e are upon the point of 
obtaining a second JSlagna Charta, a Bill of Rights, which even 
eclipses the first : — and, as regards Miguel, had not the dastard 
wretch fallen on his knees and sued for mercy, the British thunder 
would have shaken his citadel to atoms. I am thankful to have 
lived to see this day. I shall not now blush, as I have done, on a 
foreign shore, for the sullied and suffering honour of my native 
country. 



AZORES. 331 

her point against either, sufficient is produced upon 
the island for its consumption, and nature has sup- 
plied impregnable barriers of defence, of which every 
advantage is taken. 

The established religion of the Azores is, of course. 
Catholic, and priestly and kingly dominion much 
upon a par. At St. Michael's, where British residents 
are numerous, I am informed a church has been 
erected, in which service is performed upon the prin- 
ciples (as it is styled) of the Church of England. 
Here, too, I am told, there are tolerable roads ; car- 
riages and horses, or ponies, (the latter remarkable 
for their beauty,) in abundance ; and asses, also very 
fine ones, so numerous that there is said to be one for 
every inhabitant in the island. 

I must not omit to mention that there is excellent 
shooting at the Azores, ivithout the slightest inter- 
ference or restriction. Quail, rabbits, and pigeons 
plentiful, I believe, on all the islands. Partridge 
on some, and woodcocks ; and, as Captain Livingston 
remarks, it is said, grouse. Of the existence of the 
latter, like him, I am rather dubious; but I scarcely 
know why, excepting that I saw none on two of the 
islands, (and T rambled pretty much over them,) but 
I saw some of the finest heath I ever met with, three 
or four feet high, and cover enough for all the 
2f rouse in Scotland. 



Plymouth, December 14, 1830. — After a voyage of 

twelve days, during the latter part of which we suf- 
2 F 



332 PLYMOUTH AND 

fered severely from cold — our fruit cargo prohiLiting 
us the use of fire — and various inconveniences inci- 
dent to the smallness of our vessel, (though obliged 
to Captain Johns for the disposition he evinced to 
accommodate us in every possible respect J with a 
fair proportion of favourable and head winds, gales, 
laying to, &c., we anchored safely in this port about 
two o'clock this afternoon, the coast being almost 
strewed with wrecks which had occurred a few days 
previously ; and thankful do I feel not only to 
have escaped the number of these, but for my 
preservation through the many trying scenes of 
difficulty and peril to which I have been exposed 
since quitting my native land. May I never forget 
the goodness of that beneficent Being to whom I 
owe so much; ivhose tender' mercies are over all his 
works ; and to whom, for favours and blessings, past 
and present, I would ascribe the homage of a reve- 
rently grateful heart! 

A day or two passed at Plymouth, recovering from 
our fatigues and retracing a file of adventures now so 
happily consummated, and far from unpleasing in 
retrospect, I again set out with Capt. B. for liiver- 
pool, whence he was designing to take a passage by 
the earliest packet leaving for New York. Our ride, 
though for the most part, and for December, a fine, 
was a very cold one, and oftentimes had I occasion 
to contrast the nipping severity of our uunfer climate 
with the mild and spring-like temperature of the one 
we had so recently quitted,— draw ing all my com- 
parisons in favour uf tlie latter. It was difl[icult, 



ARRIVAL IN LIVERPOOL. 333 

indeed, to believe, with the cheerless evidences of the 
season around us, — the whitened and frost-bound 
plain,— the current stiffened in its course, — the " naked 
shoots, barren as lances," — and the hollow wind, as 
sighing nature's dirge, — that but a fortnight ago we 
were ranging the orange groves, and surveying the 
ever-living verdure and beauty of a sunny Fayal. 
But T hasten to a close : — the reader has, doubtless, 
thought me too much of a laggard already. 

Arriving at Liverpool I was welcomed by many 
kind friends and acquaintance as one arisen from the 
dead; but few amongst them not having long since 
consigned me to an ocean grave : — and for the truly 
affectionate interest evinced by them, and the nu- 
merous other congratulations which I have received, 
I take this opportunity of returning my very sincere 
thanks. 

With heartfelt pleasure I have subsequently heard 
of the safe arrival at their various destinations of all 
on board our unfortunate vessel ; — for whom, as for 
myself, I cannot indulge or conclude with a better 
wish than that upon every future embarkation we 
may be favoured with a more prupitious voyage, or, if 
cast away, be driven upon the like hospitable and 
friendly shores we found at Flores and Faval. 



FINIS. 



E. Smith and Co., Piintevs. 



^^ ; 





^ .^^m^', -^Z _^.^o^_ ^^^^^^ /^„ 







&^^ '^ 









=?=a< o .^ ^-) 






^ 



■*^4'^ 






!■ 



-^^.^ 










^o^ 










\. ' -e^ ' . . s ' 

















^^^ 









^^^ N.MANCHESTER. 
"^^^ INDIANA 









5 o , 



